Comcast, Facebook Refuse to Run Ads for ‘Family Night’ at Gun Range

Osseo Gun Club & Pro Shop/Facebook
Osseo Gun Club & Pro Shop/Facebook

When Osseo Gun Club & Pro Shop reached out to Comcast to run commercials for “family night” at their gun range, they were told they could only run the commercials if they did not use the word “gun” and if they removed the phrase “family night.” At the same time, Facebook informed Chris Williamson—owner of Osseo Gun Club & Pro Shop—that they would not let him put up posts on the “family night” event because his business sells guns.

Osseo Gun Club & Pro Shop is a family-oriented gun range with a lounge, televisions, an espresso bar, etc., located in Osseo, Minnesota.

On September 4, Breitbart News spoke with Chris Williamson who sent us a copy of the Comcast email in which he was asked to think of a phrase other than “family night” that could be used to advertise “family night” at his gun range. The email was sent by a Comcast cable representative on September 2. It said:

Chris,
Can you give me your suggestions for changing the script/voice over to not say “family night”. We could just eliminate it our say “and other special events”.
Please let me know as soon as you can.

Comcast has now relented on the word “family,” but they continue to say Chris cannot air the commercial if the word “gun” is mentioned when advertising the Osseo Gun Club & Pro Shop. Chris said they want him to say “Bang, Bang” instead. That is, they want him to make a gun noise instead of saying the word “gun.”

As for Facebook, they sent Chris the following email informing him that he cannot advertise on their platform:

Hi Chris,
It looks like your ad account was used to create ads that violate Facebook’s Advertising Guidelines. Facebook’s policies protect everyone on Facebook and help make it a good experience. As a result, your ad account has been permanently disabled.
Here’s why your account was disabled:

Weapons
Ads can’t promote the sale of ammunition, firearms, paintball guns, BB guns, or other weapons, including knives, daggers, swords, bows, arrows, knuckle dusters, and nunchucks. Advertising the sale of weapons or leading to destinations where the business primarily focuses on the sale of weapons is not allowed. Keep in mind that ads can promote advocacy or interest groups that help connect people who have interests related to these products, as long as it doesn’t lead to the sale of any weapons.

Chris told Breitbart News that he and his wife decided to launch the range about three years ago and ended up building a multi-million-dollar facility where families and other Minnesotans can come and hone their shooting skills in a safe environment. He said, “This is our life’s blood. We’re trying to advertise, we’re trying to generate revenue, we’re trying to be sure people know that we’re here, and this is what we’re getting from Comcast and Facebook.”

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

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