Mother’s Day is a chance for people to honor and celebrate the mothers in their lives. But as it did on Valentine’s Day, the gun industry used Mother’s Day 2025 to market firearms — including AR-15s and other deadly innovations — while ignoring the serious risks of owning a gun and the families torn apart by gun violence.
Many of the social media posts from gun makers, including the examples shown below, urged families to “skip the flowers” and instead buy Mom a firearm. Others not-so-subtly suggested that mothers should purchase firearms and carry them concealed, wherever they go, to protect their families. Part of the industry’s “guns everywhere” agenda, the messaging comes as groups like the National Shooting Sports Foundation push for a federal mandate that would undo many state laws and allow people to carry firearms concealed nationwide without a permit or training.
Unsurprisingly, none of the Mother’s Day social media posts gathered here mention that firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens. None remind their followers that 76 women are shot and killed each month by intimate partners, or that access to a gun makes it five times more likely that an abusive partner will kill his female victim. None talk about how more pregnant and postpartum women are killed by firearms in states with weaker gun laws.
guns as mother’s day gifts
This Mother’s Day, many gun makers suggested that guns are better gifts for moms than flowers or brunch. For example, Springfield Armory posted a photo on Instagram of a Hellcat pistol resting on a steel target with bullet impacts in the shape of a heart. The caption: “This Mother’s Day, arm her with more than flowers.”
The holiday also served as an opportunity for companies to promote their deadly innovations. Mossberg showed a woman carrying one of the company’s newest short-barreled shotguns and urged viewers to skip flowers and brunch and instead invest in “Range Time with Mom.”
Kel-Tec stated that its SUB2000 rifles, which can fold in half for easier concealment, “are better than flowers.”
Barrett Firearms, which produces sniper rifles powerful enough to down helicopters and sells them to both military and civilian customers, showed “one bad mother” holding a rifle designed for “extreme long-range” sniping out to 2 miles away.
Franklin Armory ran a “Mags for Moms” promotion where if a customer purchased a binary trigger — which allows shooters to fire one shot when they pull the trigger and another shot when they release the trigger, effectively doubling their rate of fire — or an AR-15 lower receiver with one already installed, they would receive three high-capacity magazines for free. According to the company, “All the best moms are binary!”
moms go armed
Other gun industry social media posts focused on how “strong” moms protect their families by carrying firearms concealed. Smith & Wesson posted a photo on Instagram of a woman tucking a gun into her waistband with the caption “Today we celebrate your strength, resilience, and love.” Hours later, the company posted again, this time asking its followers if they would “rock” a rose-gold-colored Bodyguard pistol.
Beretta posted a series of photos on Instagram showing a woman tucking a pistol into her waistband before taking her daughter on a walk — while keeping an eye on her surroundings. Beretta dedicated the post to “the moms who protect, guide, and love like no one else.”
Similarly, Taurus showed a woman aiming a pistol as a way of “celebrating the women who choose to protect what matters most — with strength, skill and confidence.”
Bond Arms used Mother’s Day to promote two derringers designed for concealed carry — one dedicated to First Lady Melania Trump (top) and another called the “Mama Bear” — on Facebook.
Gun Tote’n Mamas advertised a Mother’s Day sale on concealed-carry bags and purses that, according to the company, say, “I love you,” “I respect your strength,” and “I support your protection.”
More examples gathered from Mother’s Day 2025 can be found below. To learn more about the gun industry’s toxic marketing tactics, click here.
