Courtesy St. Louis Metro Transit

St. Louis Metro Transit is the gateway city’s public transit authority, running busses and light rail service throughout the St. Louis and metro east Illinois area. Like most public transit authorities, STL Metro sells advertising in and on its vehicles to partially offset the chronic operating losses that are part of running virtually every public transit system in the country.

Last week we ran a post about a new advertising program the NSSF and ATF are running in an effort to reduce illegal and straw firearm purchases, reminding people that buying a gun for someone else who can’t own one can land you in jail for 15 years. St. Louis, which consistently has some of the nation’s highest violent crime and murder rates, was chosen as the first market for the campaign.

So imagine the media buyers’ surprise when they were told by STL Metro Transit that they won’t be running the campaign. The reason given: the transit authority doesn’t promote the sale of firearms.

But wait, you say. These ads don’t promote firearm sales, you say. They’re educational ads aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them, you say.

Well yes, that’s all true enough. But hoplophopbia knows no bounds where bureaucratic blue city government entities are concerned. The NSSF tells TTAG they’ve run into the same kind of objections in the past in other bastions of law and order like…Washington, D.C. Reagan National Airport refused to run ads for Operation ChildSafe back in 2014. Those ads promoted safe gun storage, a topic apparently too controversial for the airports patrons.

It seems that if the message is in any way gun-related — even if the ATF itself is a partner in the campaign — St. Louis Metro want no part of it. Period.

Here’s the NSSF’s press release announcing St. Louis Metro Transit’s anti-gun intransigence . . .

St. Louis Metro Transit has rejected a public awareness advertising campaign to remind the public it is illegal to lie on a firearm background check verification form to purchase a gun for someone who cannot legally do so on their own.

As part of the firearm industry’s ongoing national effort to help prevent illegal “straw” purchases of firearms, NSSF – The Firearm Industry Trade Association – purchased billboard, radio, streaming radio service and online digital advertisements for the “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy” program in key locations throughout the greater St. Louis region with the message: “Buy a gun for someone who can’t and buy yourself 15 years in jail. Whatever you do … Don’t Lie for the Other Guy.” The one-month campaign is now underway, is funded entirely by the firearm industry and will total nearly 43 million gross media impressions.

“Don’t Lie” is a cooperative program between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and NSSF.

Metro Transit buses were originally planned to be included as a significant portion of the campaign. ATF chose St. Louis for this special campaign.

“It is unfortunate St. Louis Metro Transit rejected our efforts to combat illegal straw purchases of firearms by refusing to place our ‘Don’t Lie’ posters on buses. There is nothing controversial about the ads. Everyone wants to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and people who should not have them,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “Metro waited until the day before the “Don’t Lie” campaign began to inform us of their misguided decision. Crime has been surging in major cities, including in St. Louis, and data shows the firearm industry’s efforts to reduce criminal misuse of firearms has a real and positive impact making communities safer.”

The joint NSSF-ATF-DOJ “Don’t Lie” effort was developed more than two decades ago to raise public awareness about the seriousness of the crime of purchasing a firearm for someone who cannot legally do so. The public awareness campaign drives home the message that anyone attempting an illegal firearm purchase faces a stiff federal felony penalty of up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, as well as an additional 15 years in prison if the straw purchase is made with the intent of trafficking across state lines. The “Don’t Lie” program also assists local firearm retailers by providing resources so they can be better educated and prepared to detect and deter potential illegal straw purchases.

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46 COMMENTS

  1. I see a slightly different focus there.

    Seems the NSSF was looking to tell people “You could be breaking the law if…” while the ATF seems to indicate the onus is on the FFL to prevent a straw sale.

  2. Buy for the other guy. I don’t see a damn thing in the 2A about “except” or “unless” or “u der these circumstances”. Anyone who is safe enough to be walking the streets should be able to defend themselves from criminals in, and outside of, government.

    NSSF needs to stop bootlegging and come correct on human rights.

    • I disagree. Some people have restrictions for very good reasons. That psycho in Nashville was under doctor’s supervision for mental issues. Shouldn’t have been able to buy a gun (or 7). I’m not necessarily against red flag laws as long as there is some due process involved to keep them from being abused by law enforcement, disgruntled ex, etc. That’s one of the only ways we can stop these mass murderers before they start and maybe be able to avoid additional constitutional infringement by the left.

      • In other words, you believe that private firearm ownership is a privilege that should be granted at the discretion of the state, rather than a right. I suppose that’s your prerogative, but hopefully you recognize that such a belief precludes you from referring to your own “rights”when they’re under threat

      • To believe that she shouldn’t have been able to buy a gun while also accepting the fact that she was able to legally purchase them should be enough to acknowledge that the 4473 NICS check doesn’t work as it’s supposedly meant to. NICS was never fixed. They just made everyone THINK it was.

        • Nothing is “fixed”, they won’t tell the public how many of their bullshit laws “FAILED” to stop Nashville or Uvalde or any other mass shooting/killing since Columbine, the 10-year ban on black rifles stopped nothing, magazine capacity restrictions did not affect any of the shooters, NOTHING on the books has stopped anything except a handful of prohibited individuals who lied on their 4473 and got denied… But instead of increasing security and allowing people the freedom to protect themselves they blame the guns and start yelling about needing laws that are already in effect… It’s not just a coincidence that MOST mass shootings occur in GFZs in DEM run cities, but THEY won’t address that either… You might get jacked up in NYC for defending yourself but in Florida you’ll get a medal (two if the asshole is on its way to room temperature)…

      • Squiggy81,

        “Some people have restrictions for very good reasons. That psycho in Nashville was under doctor’s supervision for mental issues.”

        That evil scumbag murderer in Nashville most certainly was NOT, I repeat was NOT under a doctor’s supervision. If he was under a doctor’s supervision, he would not have been able to go out and attack people.

        People who walk freely among us AND who are determined to attack us WILL do so. Wise people will we make that fact a central tenant in any security strategy for society. Foolish people will ignore or reject that fact in their claimed “security” strategy for society.

        • *She

          To Squiggy81,
          Just because someone is seeing a therapist or a doctor for “mental health” issues does not automatically mean they can’t be trusted with a gun. People will avoid seeking help if it means they have to give up their rights.

        • “*She”

          It, more accurately. You’re no longer human if you murder kids.

          And it’s pronouns are now was/were… 🙂

        • “That evil scumbag murderer in Nashville most certainly was NOT, I repeat was NOT under a doctor’s supervision”

          SHE, was under a doctors CARE “voluntarily”… Unfortunately doctors are NOT required to report those voluntary cases even if the patient might be deemed potentially harmful to themselves or others…
          In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, MNPD Chief John Drake said Audrey Hale, the shooter who shot and killed three 9-year-olds and three school staff members, told reporters Hale was under doctor’s care for an emotional disorder.

  5. Good they can use the tax payers money for something besides an add on the side of a buss.
    The giverment is forgetting who foots the bill for everything it has.
    Thank You for Your Service, Taxpayer. Without you we couldn’t wage Wars.
    Funny huh?

  6. “Why Won’t St. Louis Metro Transit Run Ads Aimed at Reducing Illegal Gun Purchases?”

    Because it will be seen as being classist/racist?

  7. Everyone wants to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and people who should not have them,

    Apparently, St Luis metro is worried that it might upset a significant number of its users (gangsters, drug dealers, common criminals) who would be denied a gun purchase if they went through legal processes…

  10. because
    its the democrats master plan
    to let violence run rampant
    in their big blue cities and states
    to drive their voter base out
    to turn red states purple
    and purple states blue
    its a chess game
    and theyre moving their pieces
    the lack of securing the southern border
    is part of the same scheme
    once you understand that this is their goal
    everything that they do makes perfect sense
    we will know when they think theyve moved enough people to the right places
    because literally overnight
    they will begin the long overdue process
    of governing those that they govern
    in manner thats more consistent
    with the idea that they actually care about their health and well being

  11. Why Won’t St. Louis Metro Transit Run Ads Aimed at Reducing Illegal Gun Purchases?

    because it might impact the sales of the bus drivers.

  12. “Everyone wants to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and people who should not have them,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel.“

    Nice words, but an utter lie. The Gun Control Crowd would soon run out if steam without a steady stream of fresh dead bodies. And you won’t get bodies unless you have lots of criminals with guns.

  13. I for one support every effort that The Lou takes in order retain it’s preeminent place as the leading city for violent crime in the United States.

    No longer:
    First in Shoes
    First in Booze
    And only occasional First in the National League.
    But always First Homicides.
    The City of Saint Louis has a long and proud history.

  14. It’s not too hard to parse.

    An ad campaign that spells out “illegal” gun purchases also necessarily implies that there are “legal” gun purchases.

    The implication of the ad campaign is to “only buy guns legally.”

    THAT is what they don’t want to say. They don’t want ANYONE to buy a gun, anywhere.

    So technically, the campaign does violate the policy that they are admitting, namely anything that talks about the sale of firearms.

  15. They just don’t want the public to be informed that there are actually already background checks required to buy a firearm. You know, so they keep screaming “background checks, background checks”.

  17. Collaborators. NSSF is nothing but a bunch of back stabbing traitors, but thanks for tree stumping for them.

  18. The ad campaign is intended and designed to target a specific segment of the population. The participation of St Louis Metro would be a tacit admission by the left that there is a problem with that segment. At Louis Metro isn’t going to do that.

  19. Why Won’t St. Louis Metro Transit Run Ads Aimed at Reducing Illegal Gun Purchases?

    Because the leftists who govern St. Louis don’t actually care about illegal gun purchases, most of which are committed by black residents and other democrats.

    Contrary to the absolutely braindead argument by some here that Democrats support gun control because they are secret KKK Jim Crow enthusiasts, they do so because they want to disarm law-abiding conservative voters. That’s why they emphasize banning semi-auto rifles, which are rarely used in murders, but they ignoring handguns, which are used to commit the vast majority of murders.

    There’s even a growing consensus among leftists DAs that gun violations shouldn’t be prosecuted in their jurisdictions because it would disproportionately punish black residents (the majority of offenders).

    “Why doesn’t the government prosecute actual gun crime? It’s almost like they want an excuse to keep law abiding citizens from exercising their right to keep and bear arms.”
    – Congressman Thomas Massie

    “Many of the crimes the Biden-appointed US Attorney in Washington DC is declining to prosecute are gun crimes. Democrats always want more gun control laws. Why push for stronger laws when you’re not going to prosecute the people who break them?”
    – Byron York (The Washington Examiner)

  20. St. Louis? Isn’t that the home of Anheuser- Busch, proud makers of Queer Beer?

    Go figure.

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