Comcast, NRA tangle over gun ad
The advocacy group CeaseFirePA called Monday for supporters to thank Comcast Corp. for "standing up to the gun lobby" after the cable giant demanded that the National Rifle Association edit one of its ads for the Pennsylvania outdoors show in Harrisburg in February.
The advocacy group CeaseFirePA called Monday for supporters to thank Comcast Corp. for "standing up to the gun lobby" after the cable giant demanded that the National Rifle Association edit one of its ads for the Pennsylvania outdoors show in Harrisburg in February.
But an NRA spokesman said the gun-lobbying group conceded only to a minor edit of a 30-second TV advertisement after Comcast retreated from its initial demand that it remove all images of guns, handguns, and shooting ranges from two TV ads.
"We made a concession once Comcast backed down," NRA spokesman Jeremy Greene said Monday.
The edit involved removing a segment of children at a shooting range, the NRA and Comcast said.
A Comcast Spotlight spokeswoman said the depiction of children with guns violates its advertising guidelines, which reflect industry standards.
The NRA runs the Great American Outdoor Show, scheduled for Feb. 6 to 14 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, one of the largest hunting, fishing and camping shows in the nation.
The NRA has budgeted $85,000 in TV ads in central Pennsylvania to promote the show, he said.
CeaseFirePA, which seeks to reduce gun violence, asked supporters in a tweet Monday to sign letters that will be presented to Comcast. The group also sent emails to supporters.
"There are not a lot of times that people can thank their cable company," Shira Goodman, executive director of the Philadelphia nonprofit, said Monday.
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