Google.com is ANTI-GUN!

[CTcarry]

Hello fellow gun enthusiasts,
Just got this message from a local dealer in my area that I do some of my shopping at. Turns out Google.com is ANTI-gun! Please read the following massage which I will copy and paste at the end of this message. It's sad that something we use almost daily does not support our basic rights. The email comes from Valley Firearms in Shelton, CT. Hear what the head guy over there has to say. Let's do what we can to let the people at Google know that we won't stand around and watch our basic rights become infringed upon. -ct
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You are getting this straight from the horses mouth. Google.com is anti gun! I enrolled in their advertising program recently. The way it works is this, you set up an account as a Google advertiser, it is called Adwords. You pick out keywords, which when a Google user searches one of those keywords, my link to www.valleyfirearms.com shows up on the right side of the browser. Of course this service is not free, I have to pay for every click thru that Google provides me with.

I set up an account, I used Google's keyword tool to come up with gun related keywords to add to my list. Keep in mind, most of my keywords were words the Google's own tools had suggested. Of course, because I am advertising a gun store, all my keywords were gun related. Below is the email Google sent me. The have disallowed ALL of my keywords because they are firearm related.

This is what they stated
"Content: At this time, Google policy does not permit the
advertisement of websites that contain "firearms and ammunition". As
noted in our advertising terms and conditions, we reserve the right to
exercise editorial discretion when it comes to the advertising we
accept on our site." The entire email is below.

I STRONGLY suggGLY suggest gun owners and supporters pass this information along to their friends, email google at [e-mail], and look for another search engine to use. They are being copied on this email.

Please continue to scroll down and read the entire email they sent me. Thanks,
Rick

Here is the complete email they sent me;

Thank you for advertising with Google AdWords. After reviewing your
account, I have found that one or more of your ads or keywords does not
meet our guidelines. The results are outlined in the report below.

----------------------------------------------
Campaign: 'Campaign #1,' Ad Group: 'See all of our used guns online'
----------------------------------------------

AD TEXT:

Valley Firearms LLC
Shop all of our used guns online
Bid on our online firearm auctions
www.valleyfirearms.com

Action taken: Suspended - Pending Revision
Issue(s): Unacceptable Content
~~~~~~~~~

KEYWORD(S): Gun broker, Guns america, Online firearms auctions, Online
gun auctions, ammunition auction, ammunition auctions, buy used
firearms, cheap used guns, firearms auction, firearms auctions,
firearms for sale, gun auction, gun auction com, gun auctions, gun
dealer, gun dealers, gun online auction, gun sales, guns buy, online
gun auction, pistol auction, pistol auctions, pistol sales, pistols for
sale, revolver sales, rifle auction, rifle auctions, rifle sales,
rifles for sale, shotgun auction, shotgun auctions, shotgun sales,
shotguns for sale, used firearms, used gun, used gun auction, used gun
auctions, used guns, used guns auction, used guns auctions, used guns
for sale, used hunting rifles, used rifles, used rifles for sale, used
shotguns, used shotguns for sale, used handguns, revolvers for sale,
handgun sales, used handguns for sale, www gunbroker, wwww gunbroker
com, www gunsamerica com, ww gunbroker com, www auction arms com,
gunsamerica com, gunbroker com, Gunbroker, firearm auction, www
gunbroker com, www gunsamerica, Auction Arms

Action taken: Disapproved
Issue(s): Unacceptable content as keyword
~~~~~~~~~

SUGGESTIONS:
-> Content: At this time, Google policy does not permit the
advertisement of websites that contain "firearms and ammunition". As
noted in our advertising terms and conditions, we reserve the right to
exercise editorial discretion when it comes to the advertising we
accept on our site.

-> Keywords: Google policy does not permit the advertisement
of "firearms and ammunition". This content is not permitted as ad text
or keywords. We have therefore disabled the keyword(s) listed above.


---------------------
Please read below for definitions of the issues I found:

Unacceptable Content: Google believes strongly in freedom of expression
and therefore offers broad access to content across the web without
censoring search results. Please note that the decisions we make
concerning advertising in no way affect the search results we deliver.

Unacceptable content as keyword: In keeping with Google policy, we do
not permit advertisers to use certain content as keywords for their
Google AdWords campaigns. Google believes strongly in freedom of
expression and therefore offers broad access to content across the web
without censoring search results. Please note that the decisions we
make concerning advertising in no way affect the search results we
deliver.


---------------------

If a keyword has been disapproved, your ad(s) will no longer be
displayed for searches on this keyword.

If an ad has been suspended, please edit it based on our suggestions,
and then save your changes to automatically resubmit the ad for review.
We're confident that these changes will improve your ad performance and
increase your return on investment.

Our goal is to help you reach your target audience and maximize your
investment. All ads are reviewed by AdWords Specialists to ensure that
our advertisers create successful, high-impact advertising in keeping
with our program’s Editorial Guidelines.

For more information about our ad requirements, please read the AdWords
Editorial Guidelines at:
adwords.google.com/select/guidelines.html

Please feel free to email us at [e-mail] if you have
any further questions or concerns. We look forward to providing you
with the most effective advertising available.

Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team

[HogRider]

Well that sucks. First time I hear of Google being Anti Gun. I wonder if they just trying to protect themselves in this sue happy no common sense world.

[HogRider]

[glow=red,2,300]It's all for the children.[/glow]

But, Interesting fact is: They DO take ads for pornography.


One of the Internet's leading search engines is refusing to sell advertising to firearms dealers or companies that sell gun parts or knives, though it will sell ads to pornographic sites.

According to the owners of Bowman's Brigade, a Montana-based online gun parts and adventure gear retailer, the online search engine company Google, based in Silicon Valley, Calif., refused to accept prepaid advertising on three separate occasions earlier this month.

"For gun owners, the problem is [the Google search engine] is widely used to find products, articles or information gun owners are interested in," said a statement published by the retailer.

However, at the same time, "Google is actively engaged in making sure you don't see advertisers that just might have that particular product or information you wanted – if you're a gun-related business that is," the retailer said. "They do this by denying ad space to gun-related businesses – no matter what your ad may actually say."

Contacted for comment by WorldNetDaily, the owner of the business requested anonymity. But he said he believes Google's policy is akin to economic racism.

Google refused to sell the retailer ads hawking night-vision goggles, dehydrated storable foods and parts for pistols. All three ads were placed March 7; by the next day, the retailer said the search engine's ad staff had rejected all of them.

Google sells what it calls "AdWords" – keywords that an advertiser purchases, so when a Web surfer searches for subjects related to those specific words, the advertiser's ad pops up on the right side of the Google search page.

A retailer "could be selling ice cream on [its] website – but if [that site] also has any gun- or knife-related products, your AdWords and AdWords Select ads for 'ICE CREAM' will be refused by Google. That in a nutshell is exactly what happened to us," the retail owner said.

David Krane, a spokesman for Google, said the website's ad policy "clearly states" that the company refuses ads from firearms dealers, as well as ads for liquor, tobacco and a few other products.

When questioned specifically about pornography sites, though, Krane said, "We actually do accept those ads."

WND found that Google also accepts ads from online gambling sites.

"We have a fairly large group of folks representing our advertising staff and executive management team that come up with these policies," he said, acknowledging the company's refusal to sell to Bowman's specifically – even if Bowman's limited its ads strictly to its freeze-dried food.

"The problem we have is not with the dehydrated food, but when you link back to the food, the same site also sells knives" and other weapons-related gear.

When asked to qualify Google's policy of accepting porn ads but refusing those for guns and "vices," Krane fell back on the First Amendment.

"[The company] believes strongly in freedom of expression. Therefore, we offer broad access to all ranges of content across the Web without censoring our results," he said.

Indeed, in a sample search using the keywords "gun," "gun control" and "gun rights," the Google search engine returned thousands of "hits" – but no "AdWords" advertisements.

"At the same time, we do reserve the right to exercise editorial discretion when it comes to advertising accepted on our site, which is very clearly noted in the terms and conditions of our advertising policy," Krane said.

According to the online "terms and conditions" Google posts for prospective advertisers, however, there is no language that specifically addresses the items the company bans. And Krane did not return a follow-up phone call seeking the link to the company's complete ad policy.

What is posted online regarding banned items is vague; it simply states that advertisers must "agree not to use the Google Web Site or Partner Sites … to advertise substances, services, products or materials that are illegal or violate Google's Ad Policy, as it may be revised from time to time."

There is no link to the full "Ad Policy," however.

In a separate Google advertising section – for premium sponsorships – Google says: "All advertisements are subject to Google's approval. Google reserves the right to reject any advertisement, Insertion Order, or URL link, at any time, for any reason whatsoever (including, but not limited to, belief by Google that any placement thereof may subject Google to criminal or civil liability)." An Adobe .pdf file on the same webpage contains the very same language.

Other Web search engines are equally hazy.

Yahoo, the most-visited search engine, doesn't publish online an advertising "terms and conditions" statement.

Lycos, the second-most popular search engine, says it "reserves the right, without liability, to reject, omit or exclude any advertisement or to reject or terminate any links, buttons, boxes or banners for any reason at any time, with or without notice to the advertiser/agency, and whether or not such advertisement, link, button, box or banner was previously acknowledged, accepted, or published."

Ray Whedon, acting on behalf of Bowman's Brigade, has initiated a petition drive to get Google to change its "no guns allowed" ad policy.

"Many of us believe this is discrimination upon individuals, businesses and organizations, an assault on the First and Second Ammendment rights of all Americans, a deliberate singling out of a specific target group of individuals, businesses and organizations which are the forerunning champions of the Bill of Rights and the United States Constitution," the petition states.

"Furthermore, we believe that such actions by these politically correct policies being forced upon every American by businesses, companies, corporations, organizations and all levels of the state and federal government are leading to the continued destruction of the Constitution of the United States, the downfall and moral degeneration of our society and culture, and are an utter disregard for the millions of individuals who fought for our freedom we all enjoy and cherish," it says.

Krane maintains that Google's decision was not based on politics.

"We remain completely removed from any opinions and political preferences one way or the other when we determine our advertising policies," he said.

Bowman's owner disagrees.

"That's doublespeak," he said. "[The Google decision] is a direct, focused effort that is deliberately excluding gun-related businesses. If it wasn't about politics, the food ads would have run."

Meanwhile, noted tax preparation service H & R Block has ended its corporate relationship with the National Rifle Association.

According to a statement issued Tuesday by Gun Industry Watch, a noted gun-control group, H & R Block's decision to withdraw from the agreement "came as a result of widespread protests spearheaded by the Alliance for Justice's Gun Industry Watch, and supported by the Million Mom March united with the Brady Campaign and the Mid-Atlantic Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence."

The tax preparation service had entered into an agreement with a marketing company called Memberdrive to market its products and services to NRA members, said the alliance.

However, the agreement also provided for royalties paid by H&R Block, through Memberdrive, to the NRA. According to an H&R Block advertisement that ran in the March issue of America's First Freedom, the NRA's magazine, H&R Block "will make a contribution to the NRA for every Member who becomes a new customer," the group said.

The NRA and H&R Block could not be reached immediately for comment.

"Let this send a loud message to other corporate partners of the NRA. If you support the NRA, we will work to make sure that your employees, customers and all of your stakeholders know that you support an extremist gun lobby that is out of step with mainstream America," said Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron.

Critics of the anti-gun lobby point out that support for guns is growing, especially since the Sept. 11 attacks. They point to 44 states that now have concealed-carry laws, with half of those considering easing current gun restrictions in current legislative sessions.

[CTcarry]

hogrider;Sometimes I just think that some people are losing touch with what America stands for and why America exists today. Every year we celebrate Independence Day by meeting with family and friends, having barbecues, and sitting back, chugging on a cold one in the backyard in a lawn chair like it was some chum holiday when everything is on sale. We go back to 18th century colonial America and see us battling in blood and sweat to free ourselves from the tyranny of British rule. The freedom to bear arms is what allowed every American to contribute to the fight for freedom and our forefathers knew that the right to bear arms will ensure the liberty that America was built on. Yes, it's for the children, but the children will grow up and we don't need something like the Sept. 11th attacks to jolt them into the realization that an armed society is a free society. They have to learn now that guns are the instruments of liberty and not the facilitators of crime that Hollywood and the media would have them believe.

You know what I say , I say let there be the Alliance for Justice and those other anti-gun lobbyists who can't tell a rifle from a handgun because I know that we will not allow this country to wallow in a false sense of peace without a gun holstered on every lawful citizens' belt. I hope they know that the "rockets' red glare" and the "bombs bursting in air" didn't come from fireworks. So-called "Mainstream" America has become so gun-fearing that it's sad. I know people who think I'm a scary bad guy because I'm packing. I'm sure everyone here knows someone like that. They'd say: you don't need a gun. Then I'd say: You don't NEED freedom.