Advertisers borrow revered reformers’ histories to morally elevate firearms

Evidence

Anthony nor those she inspired won women’s voting rights with guns. Rosa Parks sparked the civil rights movement by nonviolent resistance to institutionalized discrimination. Given her commitment to social change by nonviolent means, she would probably be appalled to see her name used in support of the gun industry. For its comparative ennoblement, the NRA also recruited George Mason and Patrick Henry, who fought for the Bill of Rights, and distinguished scientists such as Einstein and Pasteur. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1083 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

The gun industry favors morally uplifting comparative associations, however. By equating guns with freedom of speech, the gun industry creates a comparison that is morally elevating. In an example of how the industry achieves this by linking its wares to just causes fought for by revered social reformers, Sandra Froman (2007) cited both Susan B. Anthony and Rosa Parks for moral uplift: Look at Susan B. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1080 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Gun lobby equates guns with revered figures to justify lethal products; Gun advocates recruit reformers to lend moral prestige to their cause. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 1083; The gun industry morally elevates itself by equating guns with revered social reformers. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 1080 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Gun advocates recruit reformers to lend moral prestige to their cause. #corroborates (0.95) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1083
• The gun industry morally elevates itself by equating guns with revered social reformers. #corroborates (0.92) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1080