Stop
advertisement for small arms
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The case for restrictions on advertisement for small arms is one important element in a comprehensive strategy to neutralise gun cultures, reduce the illicit availability and the misuse of small arms. Advertisement for small arms should be banned because
- the visibility of aggressive advertisements for small arms, particularly if they are of military design, in various print media openly contradicts the declared intention of many governments to fight the diffusion of small arms.

- advertisements for small arms of military design3 in print media are particularly misplaced, since in most countries private persons are legally not entitled to purchase the products advertised.

- these advertisements merely entice the appetite of prospective illicit customers, who can only place their orders on the black market. Though these orders eventually translate indirectly into higher demand in the legal market where the advertising manufacturer has its stakes.

- these advertisements are cultivating a political climate focusing on military solutions of political conflicts which guarantees business as usual for the arms industry.
It is no longer acceptable that aggressive publicity for weapons destined for the exclusive use of the armed forces and law enforcement agencies is tolerated world-wide. Following the logic of restricting advertisement for medicine, smoking, and alcohol it is important to legally restrict advertisement for any weaponry individuals are under no circum-stances authorised to possess legally.
Displaying ammunition as if it were lipsticks in the window of an up-market perfumery attempts to impart ammunition with an esthetical aura and obfuscates the inherently dangerous character of the commodity. Given the legal antecedents of restricting advertisements for certain other products, the chances to challenge the public relations practice of the international small arms industry look promising. The aim must be to curb the indiscriminate propagation of firearms, at minimum of those legally restricted to military use only.
The openly sexist language of many advertisements as well the borrowing of mainstream cultural themes to promote the sale of automatic weapons and the like reveal the hidden intention of the small arms industry, namely to foment the gun culture and expand secondary illicit markets.
3 For a detailed analysis of advertisements for military weapons and the history of this recent form of public relations see: Peter Lock, Rüstungswerbung Der Boom gegen die Krise der Rüstungsindustrie, Militärpolitik Dokumentation No.41/42, Frankfurt 1985.
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