Outrage in US over NRA launching gun app for children

The NRA`s free "Practice Range`` app, which was released on Sunday, lets players shoot coffin-shaped targets with a range of realistic guns including AK-47 and M16 assault rifles.

Sydney: America`s National Rifle Association has released a gun app for iPhone aimed at children as young as four, enraging the public, especially since it comes almost a month after the horrifying mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

The NRA`s free "Practice Range`` app, which was released on Sunday, lets players shoot coffin-shaped targets with a range of realistic guns including AK-47 and M16 assault rifles, reports News.com.au.

Designed to play on both iPhone and iPad, the game`s listing on Apple`s App Store specifies it is aimed at players aged four and up. The app was released almost one month to the day of the December 14 mass shooting at the elementary school, in which 28 people were murdered, including 20 children under the age of eight.

Public reaction to the app has been spiteful, with many pointing out the NRA`s hypocrisy releasing a video game just weeks after CEO Wayne La Pierre blamed the Sandy Hook shooting on "the callous, corrupt, and corrupting shadow industry... of vicious, violent video games``.

The NRA said the game instils safe and responsible ownership through fun challenges and realistic simulations. It strikes the right balance of gaming and safety education, allowing you to enjoy the most authentic experience possible.

The app also includes links to NRA news and gun safety tips like “wear eye and ear protection`` and "always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction````. Matthew Godson from the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia, the country`s largest organisation of gun owners, said he hadn`t seen the app, but questioned its educational value. He said he has failed to see any use from a technical point of view, unless it is a ballistic calculator to assist in field shooting, or a practical app that assists people in developing a better skill in field shooting.

(ANI)

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