NJ Spent $750K on Red Flag Law Ads Built on Fake Stories, Not Data

New Jersey's attorney general spent $750,000 in public money to advertise its red flag law, and a records request by Bearing Arms shows the campaign leaned on scripted "survivor" stories built from stock footage, not real cases, to sell the public on Extreme Risk Protective Orders.

Key points

• The price tag: Bearing Arms obtained invoices showing $750,000 paid to Success Advertising, funded through a federal Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program grant, for ads on TV, radio, social media, billboards, and bus shelters in nine languages.
• The scripts weren't real: Video spots naming "Jacob," "Mary," and "Chris" use stock footage and fictional names; the AG's office confirmed no actors or real case studies were involved, despite the ads' testimonial feel.
• No data behind the claims: New Jersey's records custodian couldn't produce statistics or documentation backing up the ads' assertion that ERPOs are a "proven lifesaving tool."
• Due process questions unanswered: The AG's office pointed to perjury law as a safeguard against false petitions but declined to address what due process respondents actually get before losing their guns.
• Gun groups push back: ANJRPC and the NRA argue the law allows seizures on one-sided, even fabricated, allegations, citing the Kelly Sutliff case as an example of the law being weaponized.

Quick take

A state spending three-quarters of a million dollars to promote a law it can't back up with its own data is worth a second look, especially when the ad campaign's emotional pitch turns out to be built on stock footage rather than real people. Bearing Arms' reporting doesn't settle whether ERPOs work, but it raises fair questions about transparency and due process that the AG's office mostly dodged.

Read the full story: bearingarms.com