FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
      Wednesday, January 9, 2002
                                   CONTACT: Julie Bernstein
                                           202/822-6070


     FTC ASKED TO MONITOR GUN WEBSITES
      FOR FALSE CLAIMS ABOUT PROTECTION
                AGAINST TERRORISM


     Washington, DC - Gun Industry Watch, a project of Alliance for Justice,
     is asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to expand its probe of
     biological weapons' websites to include firearms. Last week the FTC
     sent e-mails to a number of websites claiming to offer protection from
     biological and nuclear agents and warned them it is illegal to make
     false claims about the health and safety offered by their products. Gun
     Industry Watch says that gun makers should be held to the same
     standards.

     "By these standards, gun manufacturers and retailers are in violation of
     the law any time they claim that the purchase of firearms will help
     protect consumers, when scientific data indicates that a gun in the
     home is 22 times more likely to be used in a suicide, accidental
     shooting, or homicide than in self-defense," said Alliance for Justice
     President Nan Aron in a letter to the FTC's Director of Consumer
     Protection, Howard Beales.

     The Gun Industry Watch request also included examples of possible
     false claims, including one from Ithaca Gun which markets the
     "Homeland Security Rifle" by claiming: "It is produced to protect our
     homes, our neighborhood and our nation throughout this dark time in
     our history."

     "By the FTC's own guidelines the claims of gun makers that their
     products will enhance safety and security are neither true nor can they
     be substantiated by evidence," said Aron. "It is the FTC's responsibility
     to protect American consumers by investigating misleading and
     dangerous advertising by gun makers and retailers."

     The FTC has not yet responded to the Gun Industry Watch request.

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