Some dentists send their patients away with a free toothbrush or some complimentary floss – but an orthodontist in North Carolina is sending his customers away with a free gun in their goodie bag.
Gladwell Orthodontics in Wake Forest, North Carolina, partnered with a local gun shop to promote their Invisalign treatment.
The two-days ‘Grins & Glocks’ promotion offered a free Glock 19 or a silver membership for Youngsville Gun Club & Range to those who signed up for the teeth-straightening service.
Despite sparking public outrage – the bizarre advertising partnership is actually legal.
The silver level at the Youngsville gun business – which is usually $735/year – offers members free access to the shooting range from Tuesday through Sunday, access to member-only events and exclusive prices for renting the business’s guns.
Gladwell Orthodontics in Wake Forest, North Carolina, partnered with a local gun shop to promote their Invisalign treatment (pictured: Dr. Jason Gladwell)
The two-days ‘Grins & Glocks’ promotion offered a free Glock 19 or a silver membership for Youngsville Gun Club & Range to those who signed up for the teeth-straightening service
Silver level membership holders can rent a handgun for $15, a rifle for $20, a submachine gun for $50 and a belt fed machine gun for $75.
Glock 19s typically sell for around $500 while Invisalign treatment can cost as much as $10,000.
The unique promotion has stirred nationwide controversy – with many people not understanding how this deal is legal.
‘It’s mind-blowing to me, that an organization that I think of as trying to provide health care to the people in the community is partnering their healthcare with gun death,’ Jennifer Copeland – Executive Director of the North Carolina Council of Churches – told WRAL.
She said: ‘They’re giving away guns that are going to be lodged in a house somewhere, and will potentially create gun violence and gun death.’
An attorney from North Carolina said this promotion isn’t the first of its kind – but he insists that it is legal.
‘The concern here is that we’re not having firearms transferred to folks who do not qualify to possess them,’ attorney Ron Shook said.
‘This could be folks with criminal histories, mental health issues, drug and alcohol abuse issues, restraining orders against them – or in the case of case of a handgun – under the age of 21.
‘Guns are like other property; You can buy and sell and dispose of them. But the distinction is guns are potentially inherently dangerous. So, there is regulation surrounding the transfer of firearms,’ he said.
Dr. Jason Gladwell – the manager of the orthodontics company – revealed that they’ve done partnerships with other local businesses, but none have received as much attention as this one.
The unique promotion has stirred nationwide controversy – with many people not understanding how this deal is legal – but Dr. Gladwell insists it’s responsible
He insisted that the promotion was responsible, saying ‘not everyone that comes into our office is going to be eligible. It’s not marketed to everyone.
‘It is solely designed and marketed for the Youngsville Gun Club and Range,’ he told WRAL.
He also said: ‘The promotion is non-transferable. The person who actually gets started with the Invisalign treatment has to actually be the eligible person.’
But North Carolina gun laws don’t actually require any kind of firearm training to purchase a gun.
Align Technology – the company responsible for producing Invisalign products – was not happy to have their brand associated with a gun deal.
They released a statement saying: ‘Align Technology, the makers of Invisalign brand clear aligners, recently learned of a customer’s promotional advertisement that offers a free handgun or gun range membership to qualified new patients who begin Invisalign treatment.
‘Invisalign trained doctors are independent practices and Align was not involved in the development or approval of this promotion by the dental practice, and only learned of it after the fact.
‘For more than 25 years, Align has been helping doctors transform smiles and change lives through healthy beautiful smiles using Invisalign aligners, and this promotion does not reflect our brand purpose.’
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