WAKE FOREST, N.C. (WNCN) — A North Carolina orthodontist offered a free Glock 19 or gun range membership to some Invisalign patients as part of a promotion this week.
Dr. Jason Gladwell, the owner of Gladwell Orthodontics in Wake Forest, said the “Grins & Glocks” promotion that ran on Nov. 8 and Nov. 9 was intended for the Youngsville Gun Club and Range customer mailing list.
“This was not a general blanket advertisement that we sent out to every orthodontic or potential orthodontic patient in the state,” Gladwell said.
Eligible patients were given coupons that can be redeemed at the gun range. Kurt Lieberman, the gun range’s owner, said every coupon holder has to go through the same legal requirements as anyone else buying a firearm.
“It’s not like you’re going in, you’re buying Invisalign and you’re walking out with a gun. It’s nothing like that.” Lieberman said. “They come in. They have to be 21 years old because it’s a pistol, and then they have to pass a background check, which we do on-site.”
A viewer, who did not want to be named, raised concern about the promotion in an email to Nexstar’s WNCN, calling the promotion “insane.” Another resident told WNCN that it was an “effective marketing strategy.”
Meanwhile, Lieberman said safety is his top priority and that he follows up with customers to offer free and paid safety courses.
“Our goal is to not only sell you a firearm, but also to help you understand and get you up to speed so that you are handling it safely, shooting it safely,” Lieberman said.
Another promotion turned heads in Florida last week as a roofing company promoted a free AR and turkey with the purchase of a new roof.