Groupon gun deals have been run on the site for some time, but the current climate surrounding gun use and control has lead to a sticky situation for the popular deal site. For now, Groupon has pulled all gun-related deals from its site pending some internal reviews and decisions. Huffington Post shared the details on Jan. 22.
These Groupon gun deals have been happening in some areas for a while, but certainly the tragedy in Newtown, Conn. has brought more attention to them. Groupon has been receiving pressure from gun control proponents for a while, and last Friday all North American gun-related deals were axed by the site. This has now led to boycotts from some gun business owners who are angry that the popular deals were cut with no notice.
For the moment, Groupon's gun deals are on “hiatus” as the company reviews its “internal standards that shape the deal inventory we feature,” according to site spokesperson Julie Mossler. People who have already purchased these deals will still be able to redeem them. Deals included things such as conceal-and-carry training courses, clay shooting, and shooting range sessions. Groupon notes that the hiatus is not a statement against the businesses involved, but a reaction to “consumer and merchant sentiment.”
While some businesses and their customers are boycotting and considering legal action, other Groupon customers hail the move and plan to lend more support to the popular deal site. Huffington Post notes that this isn't the first time Groupon's gun deals have been pulled, though it seems to be the first time it's gained notice in the media, surely a result of the hotly debated gun control issues sweeping the country since the Sandy Hook massacre.
Living Social is a similar deal site to Groupon, and so far they still seem willing to run gun-related deals. Huffington Post reached out to Living Social, the second-largest daily-deal site next to Groupon, but so far they have not responded. Many gun deals and related retailers have reported huge increases in sales of their services and products in the wake of Sandy Hook. Only time will tell whether Groupon's gun deals reappear on their site after this internal review.
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