Firearm Makers Buy Nashville Billboards To Deter Certain Gun Sales

Firearms manufacturers are plastering billboards around Nashville with one gun-control message they can get behind: don’t buy guns for felons. A new 30-day ad campaign targets so-called “straw buyers.”

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has been flooding certain media markets with its multi-million ad budget over the last 15 years. They follow the recommendations from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and currently Albuquerque and Nashville have their turns.

The interstate billboards point out that it’s a crime for buyers to purchase a gun using their name on the required forms if the gun is for someone else.

Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of NSSF, said cracking down on straw buying is one thing retailers can do to combat illegal gun trafficking.

“Most firearms that are obtained by criminals and misused are not purchased directly from retailers,” Keane said. “Most of the time they get them from friends, family or they steal them and such. But there’s not much the industry can do about those situations.”

The 

“Don’t Lie For the other Guy
” program

 
also includes education for firearms dealers in order to help them spot suspicious buyers and point-of-purchase displays to deter would-be straw buyers.

Straw-buying is notoriously difficult to prosecute, according to Nashville’s federal prosecutor. The office has no data on recent prosecutions, though a spokesman said there have been some.

“We know it’s happening,” said Steve Gerido, special agent in charge of the Nashville Field Division. “But we don’t have a specific number as to if it’s occurring more or less at this time.”

The firearms industry group admits it has been tough to measure the success of the ongoing campaign.