How many of us look at social media posts or gun magazines to find out what various companies are offering, even if it’s just from the ads? Well, a lot of us, I’d assume.

While many of us may just walk into the gun store to see what’s behind the counter, still others of us follow the latest offerings through the companies’ marketing efforts.

Yet in New Zealand, that might become a bit of a problem for some.

A gun control advocacy group is calling for an end to firearms advertising to help stem gun violence.

A 32-year-old man was shot and critically injured by police in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn on Monday evening, after shooting at his own house and then turning his gun on police.

On Tuesday evening, a house and two vehicles were shot at in the Auckland suburb of Glen Innes.

Gun Control New Zealand has called for an end to firearms advertising.

“We have pretty out of control firearms retail,” group founder Hera Cook said.

“Some gun retailers, you could almost describe them as provocative in terms of what they’ve done with their advertising over the past five years.”

And yet, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence linking that advertising to the shooting in question. None whatsoever.

Now, understand that this is New Zealand, not the United States, but do you really think that’s not playing out here as well?

All over the nation, states are passing laws that allow lawsuits against gun companies due to their marketing. The thing is, there’s no stipulation that the bad guy had to have even seen their marketing, they can be sued for it regardless.

Like in New Zealand, they’re trying to blame ads for their problems with criminals.

The article above goes on to quote the gun grabber lamenting the advertising of guns to kids, even, which is something we’re also seeing play out here in the United States. California has banned any kind of advertising toward children, which might not seem that big of a deal until you realize that such a ban is far broader than telling Smith & Wesson they can’t run commercials on Cartoon Network.

Look, the truth of the matter is that they want to make it impossible for gun companies to advertise anywhere. More than that, though, they want to push firearms out of the collective minds of Americans. They want guns to be so stigmatized and driven from popular culture that people just won’t care about their Second Amendment rights at all.

No, there’s nothing preserving the right to keep and bear arms in New Zealand, but there is here in the US, and these people are screaming about ads, but it won’t end there. They’ll continue pushing until guns are simply things we see on movies or television but never think we can own.

That’s the goal. That’s the endgame here.

And that’s why so many of us oppose even supposedly minor things like this. It’s because we know where this goes and we’re not interested in letting it happen.