Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) refuses to put up gun safety ad

DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG 

WASHINGTON - Keeping guns out of the hands of children is obviously an important priority for public safety. But Reagan National Airport has turned down an ad from a firearms manufacturers on the issue.

The ads for Project ChildSafe promote locking guns, but the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority refused to allow it to run at Reagan National Airport because it -- in their words -- makes "reference to weapons" which are not allowed in the airport. The trade association for the gun manufacturers is outraged.

“This is zero tolerance political correctness run amok at the expense of actual safety,” said Larry Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

The foundation, which is the trade association for the firearms manufacturers, is funding the public service campaign Project ChildSafe. It promotes responsible gun ownership and to keep guns out of the hands of children. They have given out more than 36 million safety kits that have cable gun locks since the program began in the 1990s.

This year, they started running Project ChildSafe ads in airports, and they have been seen in St. Louis at baggage claim, and also at Little Rock, Ark., Hartford, Conn., Providence, R.I., and Las Vegas.

Washington is the only airport that said no.

"The public service announcement that we sought to run at this airport, which we run in other airports around the United States with no issue, promotes responsible ownership and responsible firearms safety education,” said Keane. “There is a picture of a pistol that has a lock on it so that it's secured and that's the point of the safety message."

The airports authority said that it does not allow ads that reference weapons because guns are not allowed in the terminal or airfield. The exception is guns are allowed in checked bags if locked and unloaded.

There are clear signs at check-in where firearms have to be left before going through security. And there are many other public service ads throughout Reagan National Airport. Fliers at the airport have mixed views on the controversy.

"It's obviously an issue that people are concerned about,” said Jessica Smelser. “There's an issue about whether or not people can carry them in public, so they should be allowed to talk about it in public."

"If they are not allowed in the airport period, they shouldn't be advertising this in the airport,” said Stuart Fitzgerald.

"It's a reasonable public service announcement,” said Michael Wagner. “It's unfortunate that it's not being done in our airport that is in our nation's capital."

The Project ChildSafe safety kit comes with a bunch of paraphernalia, safety instructions as well as a cable gun lock. Unlike trigger locks, this cable lock can only work on a gun that is not loaded, which makes it more secure. 

Story and Video:    http://www.myfoxdc.com

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