Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Political Report: Gun Control Rebranded

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Political Report: Gun Control Rebranded

For decades, gun control groups have constantly tried to change their brand names in order to fool the American public.  Their goal is to convince people that a new name equals a new agenda.  Gun owners, of course, see right through this charade every time it happens.

The latest example of this occurred on October 17, when gun control group Americans for Responsible Solutions (ARS) announced a “relaunch” of the organization under the name “Giffords.” ARS was founded in 2013 by former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, former Astronaut Mark Kelly.

At its founding, ARS tried to present themselves as a more reasonable alternative to the hardline gun control groups already in the field. In a letter announcing the group, the couple employed a folksy charm and assured readers, “we don't want to take away your guns any more than we want to give up the two guns we have locked in a safe at home.” This sort of down-home messaging never aligned with the fact that the ARS Political Action Committee’s most prominent donors included Michael Bloomberg and former Facebook President Sean Parker.

Nor did it align with the group’s unyielding gun control positions. ARS’s founding letter expressed support for a host of typical gun control policies, including the criminalization of private firearms transfers and restrictions on commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms. The group even supported legislation to make New Jersey’s already onerous gun laws more burdensome.  ... a new package won't make gun control ideas easier to sell. 

Further cementing the group’s radical bent, in 2016 ARS merged with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (LCPGV). LCPGV was founded in 1994 as the Legal Community Against Violence (LCAV) in response to a shooting at San Francisco’s Pettit & Martin law firm. In 2008, LCAV co-authored an amicus brief in District of Columbia v. Heller that argued in favor of Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban and against the Second Amendment guaranteeing an individual right to keep and bear arms in the home for self-defense.  Coinciding with the ARS name change, LCPGV is now the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Three name changes and a merger in just over five years might seem excessive to some, but this type of rebranding effort is commonplace among gun control groups and has been a regular and routine occurrence over the past four decades.  

What is today the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence was founded in 1974 as the National Council to Control Handguns. NCCH’s position called for “strict federal laws that will effectively restrict the possession of handguns to only the police, the military, licensed security guards, licensed pistol clubs, and registered collectors.” 

NCCH was then renamed Handgun Control, Inc. in 1979. The change coincided with new messaging that deemphasized a total ban on the civilian possession of handguns even though handgun prohibitionist Nelson T. “Pete” Shields remained at the helm of the organization until 1989.  Shields famously admitted his three part strategy to eliminate handguns.  First, slow down production and sales, then register all existing handguns, and finally, prohibit handgun possession in almost all circumstances.

In 1989, Sarah Brady became chair of HCI. The group officially assumed the name Brady Campaign at a D.C. gala more than a decade later in 2001. The change was ostensibly to honor the Bradys, but accurately reflected the group’s desire to move away from the term “gun control.”

In 1988, Josh Sugarmann founded the anti-gun New Right Watch, then less than two years later abandoned the name in favor of the less politically-charged Violence Policy Center. The inoffensive name appears to have worked on some of the less astute. In 2015, the New York Times referred to the organization as merely a “gun safety group.” This, despite VPC’s position that “Handguns should be banned from future sale except for military and law-enforcement personnel.”

From 1975 to 1990, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence was the National Coalition to Ban Handguns. In 2006, then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg established Mayors Against Illegal Guns. After acquiring effective control of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, in 2014 Bloomberg rebranded MDA and MAIG under the umbrella group Everytown for Gun Safety. 

It’s telling that gun control zealots believe that the public will accept gun restrictions if they just put their product in a new package. However, after nearly a half-century of failure, it might be time for them to admit that the marketing isn’t the problem, it’s that the American people don’t want what they’re selling.

 

TRENDING NOW
Firearm Turn-ins, Worse than Useless?

News  

Monday, April 28, 2025

Firearm Turn-ins, Worse than Useless?

Once again, Chicago has provided a cautionary tale in gun control. This time the city helped to illustrate the futility of gun turn-ins – sometimes incorrectly termed “buybacks” by those under the misimpression that all ...

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Decision Recognizing Young Adult Carry to Stand

News  

Monday, April 28, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Decision Recognizing Young Adult Carry to Stand

On Monday, April 21, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review an appeal from the state of Minnesota in Worth v. Jacobson, allowing to stand an Eight Circuit ruling declaring that a ban on obtaining carry permits by ...

Australian Gun Regime Exposes the Fallacy of “Red Flag” Laws

News  

Monday, April 28, 2025

Australian Gun Regime Exposes the Fallacy of “Red Flag” Laws

As we wrote about last week, a cornerstone of the Biden administration’s “Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism,” a plan aimed at curtailing Second Amendment rights under the guise of fighting domestic terrorism, was ...

Trump Administration Revives Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Provision

News  

Friday, March 21, 2025

Trump Administration Revives Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Provision

On March 20, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published an interim final rule entitled, Withdrawing the Attorney General’s Delegation of Authority. That bland title belies the historic nature of the measure, which is aimed at reviving ...

Declassified Document: Biden-Harris Administration Targeted Gun Owners and Second Amendment Rights Under “Domestic Terrorism” Pretext

News  

Monday, April 21, 2025

Declassified Document: Biden-Harris Administration Targeted Gun Owners and Second Amendment Rights Under “Domestic Terrorism” Pretext

On April 16, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made good on a promise to expose the ways in which the Biden administration had weaponized the federal government against its political adversaries by releasing the Biden-era “Strategic Implementation Plan ...

Legal Update: April 2025 Litigation Update

Monday, April 21, 2025

Legal Update: April 2025 Litigation Update

In the first quarter of 2025, the National Rifle Association filed three new lawsuits and five amicus briefs, while continuing to litigate dozens of ongoing lawsuits across the country.

Florida: Legislation to Remove 2A Restrictions During Emergencies Sent to Governor’s Desk

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Florida: Legislation to Remove 2A Restrictions During Emergencies Sent to Governor’s Desk

Today, companion bills Senate Bill 952 and House Bill 6025, protecting our Second Amendment Rights during a state of emergency, received final passage from the legislature and will now head to Governor DeSantis's desk for his consideration.  

Vermont: Committee Approves Burlington Gun Ban

Monday, April 21, 2025

Vermont: Committee Approves Burlington Gun Ban

On Friday, April 18, the Vermont Senate Government Operations Committee approved S. 131, a change to the Burlington City Charter that would allow the city to ban firearms in establishments that serve alcohol.

Rep. Feenstra Reintroduces Legislation to Protect Second Amendment Rights of Tenants

News  

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Rep. Feenstra Reintroduces Legislation to Protect Second Amendment Rights of Tenants

On April 17, 2025, Representative Randy Feenstra (R-IA-04) reintroduced the Preserving Rights of Tenants by Ensuring Compliance to the Second Amendment Act, or the PROTECT the Second Amendment Act. 

Federal Court in Massachusetts Enforces Range Access Statute in Pathbreaking Case

News  

Monday, April 21, 2025

Federal Court in Massachusetts Enforces Range Access Statute in Pathbreaking Case

It has happened before in Massachusetts: A small, hardy band of armed Americans faces off against elements of the most powerful military in the world and commits a revolutionary act that paves the way for ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.