WASHINGTON — For $89.95, you can shoot Virginia Tech shooting victim-turned-anti-gun violence advocate Colin Goddard in the face.
And Goddard's not happy about it.
Goddard noticed Tuesday that Zombie Industries — creator of controversial "bleeding" shooting targets like "The Ex," a woman in lingerie, and "Rocky," a green zombie that looks a lot like President Obama — is out with a new model called "The Gun Control Lobbyist," which not only looks a lot like him but features his image advertising.
After surviving four gunshots during the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, which left 32 dead, Goddard became a gun control advocate, joining the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and becoming the focus of "Living For 32" documentary on the aftermath of the shootings.
Zombie Industries describes him like this on the webpage selling the shooting dummy, which "bleeds" red ooze when pierced with a bullet: "Despite being a self-proclaimed expert on the subject, his actual working knowledge of firearms and their capabilities was completely non-existent; he even erroneously thought that banning cosmetic features on some firearms would have an effect on people's safety levels," the copy reads. "What's worse is that he was even prone to exploiting victims of heinous crimes just to try and further his own political agenda. In other words, he was a real scumbag with no appreciation for the US Constitution or respect for an individual's freedom!"
Goddard is not amused. On Twitter, he called on the company to remove his face from the advertising for the target. On Facebook, he called the company out for bad taste.
"'Bleeds when shot'...been there already, no thanks assholes," he wrote.
A company spokesperson was unavailable for comment.
Update: Goddard tells BuzzFeed that he thinks actual shooting target looks more like his boss at the Brady Campaign, Daniel Gross, the man at the center of the photo. Goodard is standing behind Gross in the image. But he said his inclusion in the advertisement (which was posted to the company's Facebook page) along with other gun violence victims whose faces are covered by the text, is "clearly" aimed at selling likenesses of gun control lobbyists for target practice.
Hey @ZombieInd would u remove pic w/me off your ad 4 "Gun Control Lobbyist" shooing targets pls? Already been shot...
Colin Goddard
@clgoddard
Hey @ZombieInd would u remove pic w/me off your ad 4 "Gun Control Lobbyist" shooing targets pls? Already been shot...
