Anti-Gun Group Vilifies Firearm Industry Members on V-Day

The anti-civil liberty camp won’t ever let an opportunity to lash out go by. We can’t say that we’ve seen it all, because more and more outlandish nonsense continues to pour out of the progressive pinko think tanks. One group, Josh Sugarmann’s Violence Policy Center, took to the web the other day to complain about Valentine’s Day related advertising from the firearms industry.

To get everyone up to speed, Sugarmann is the man responsible for the term so-called “assault weapon.” Violence Policy Center’s 1988 publication, “Assault Weapons and Accessories in America,” highlighted what Sugarmann really thinks about the American people [emphasis added]:

Assault weapons—just like armor-piercing bullets, machine guns, and plastic firearms—are a new topic. The weapons’ menacing looks, coupled with the public’s confusion over fully automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons—anything that looks like a machine gun is assumed to be a machine gun—can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons. In addition, few people can envision a practical use for these weapons.

In short, Sugarmann figured people were just too stupid to be able to know the difference between semi-automatic firearms and machine guns. Instead of trying to explain the difference to people, Sugarmann used the opportunity to exploit this for his own political gains.

On the other hand though, there are plenty of politicians who would fall into the category of being too stupid to tell the difference…We’ve had lawmakers talk about bullets with an “incendiary device” that could cook a deer while you shoot it. Lest us not forget about the “barrel shroud, shoulder thing that goes up.”

What did Sugarmann have to say about the advertisements from firearm companies? In his February 11, 2025 email admonishing the firearm industry, he said:

While most of America sees Valentine’s Day as a time of love and closeness, to the firearms industry it’s just another opportunity to market its increasingly lethal products.

The following images offer examples of gun manufacturer Instagram posts which exploit Valentine’s Day to market firearms.

Violence Policy Center linked to their slide show. The first slide opens by stating, “The gun industry never misses an opportunity to market its increasingly lethal products to the American public.” What exactly makes firearms “increasingly lethal,” is not explained in the presentation. “While most of America sees Valentine’s Day as a time of love and closeness, to the firearms industry it’s just another day to try and sell some guns.”

Mind you, none of the posts that were shared were from 2024. There was one from 2023 and all the rest were much older, some dating back to 2016. This is some groundbreaking research.

The slide show goes on to show posts taken from Instagram. Companies highlighted by the group include: Keltec, Glock, FN, Diamondback Firearms, Daniel Defense, Century Arms, and Anderson Manufacturing.

Naturally, this is just an absurd campaign to lash out at the Second Amendment.

I personally take insult to the group saying that we’re not all about love. So on this Valentine’s Day, let’s all spread the love and if you have an Instagram account, head to the following accounts, like some posts, follow them, and give them a share.

The accounts to send your Valentine’s Day love to:

@andersonmanufacturing, @centuryarms, @danieldefense, @dbfirearms, @fn_america, @glockinc, and @keltec.official

Bonus points, show the Violence Policy Center that you love these companies by tagging them in comments you leave these firearm manufacturers, @violencepolicycenter. 

Maybe say something like: “@violencepolicycenter sends their love on this special Valentine’s Day.” Be creative, but respectful. We’re sending love to our people.

The progressive machine won’t ever stop. Now’s not a time for us to take our foot off the gas. As you can see, even normal commercial advertisements fall subject to the scrutiny of the anti-liberty forces – and they’ll dig deep to find “examples.”

Hoping that you and yours have a fantastic Valentine’s Day, and remember, we’re too, all about the “love and closeness.”