Opponents see “grotesque joke”
US gunsmith offers gun for children
2/19/2022, 4:59 p.m
The US weapons manufacturer WEE1 Tactical is launching a semi-automatic rifle especially for children. It works like “mum and dad’s,” they say. Opponents condemn the process and accuse the industry of being willing to do anything for profit.
The US weapons manufacturer WEE1 Tactical has launched a semi-automatic rifle specially designed for children. According to the company’s advertising texts, the JR-15 will “help adults introduce children to the sport of shooting safely”. The rifle “looks, feels and performs just like Mom and Dad’s rifle”.
The JR-15 is significantly smaller and lighter than the standard AR-15 model and costs $389. For boys, the company advertises it as a pirate skull with a mohawk. Girls should appeal to a skull with blond strands and a pink pacifier in the mouth.
The adult model AR-15 is the civilian version of a military weapon and has been used in numerous mass killings in the United States, including school shootings.
Four out of ten US households have a gun
Activists against gun violence condemned the advertising campaign for the children’s gun in the strongest possible terms. “At first glance, this seems like a grotesque hoax. At second glance, it’s just grotesque,” said Josh Sugarmann of the Violence Policy Center. The Newtown Action Alliance, a group that also advocates gun restrictions, accused the gun industry of “doing anything to keep making profits.”
Firearms are common in the United States. According to the Pew Research Center, around 40 percent of adults live in a household with at least one gun. In 2020, nearly 23 million firearms were sold nationwide. Tens of thousands of people die every year in the United States from gun violence, which has increased in the course of the corona pandemic.
Despite these numbers and the fact that a majority of US citizens support tightening gun laws, repeated attempts to limit gun ownership have failed. The gun industry lobby, particularly the National Rifle Association, has enormous influence.