“Stop, don’t touch, run away!”: Reconceptualizing firearm industry-funded youth education programs as corporate political activity

Background: Injuries represent a major threat to child health globally. In the US, firearm injuries are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents. However, despite there being limited evidence to support the adoption of gun safety education programs, groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) who receive firearm industry-funding promote the delivery of their education-based Eddie Eagle Gunsafe® program while lobbying against firearm control policies unfavorable to the industry. This study analyses how the NRA frame issues of gun ownership, safety and the role of the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® program as an effective firearm safety intervention and considers whether the design, promotion and delivery of the program serves the corporate political interests of the firearm industry, and if so, how. Methods and Findings: Critical analysis of Eddie Eagle Gunsafe® program-related materials and the NRA’s practices to promote the program’s legitimacy and effectiveness, by applying published taxonomies of corporate framing and action strategies. Data were collected from the program-specific websites and other NRA outlets to capture the breadth of strategies used by the NRA. The NRA’s education-related practices support the firearms industry’s political agenda. The NRA adopts framing and action strategies that present the presence of firearms in homes and communities as inevitable and normal, and the education of children through the delivery of their “lifesaving” program as the common-sense and effective way of keeping children safe from firearm injuries. They make misleading claims about the effectiveness of the Eddie Eagle Gunsafe® program, present themselves as apolitical experts in child firearm safety, while acting to undermine the credibility of those who advocate for the child safety, including mothers and public health actors. Conclusions: The NRA makes misleading claims about the effectiveness of their Eddie Eagle Gunsafe® program and what is needed to prevent child firearm injuries and ensure children’s safety. Government and the public health community must act to prevent the NRA’s influence on child firearm safety policy and programs. Independent, evidence-informed policy measures that prioritize the prevention of firearm injuries are needed to save children’s lives. The ongoing delivery of the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® program needs critical scrutiny as is increasingly applied for other industry-funded initiatives. The NRA’s education-related practices are highly consistent with those adopted by other health-harming industries and should be analyzed and understood as a form of corporate political activity.