No, It’s Not Harder to Buy Allergy Medicine than a Gun

A twist on an inaccurate old anti-gun talking point is making the rounds on social media. On September 10, anti-gun public relations professional Wendy Zipes Hunter tweeted about a purported recent trip to drug store. Hunter claimed, “Couldn’t buy Claritin D today because my drivers license just expired - govt rule- wish the govt was that strict about buying guns.”

The message reached a wider audience when it was retweeted by Fred Guttenberg, the father of one of the shooting victims in Parkland, Fla., who wrote “Harder to buy Claritin D then a gun. No further comment needed. Just let that sink in.”

There are substantial federal rules regarding the sale of pseudoephedrine- a precursor chemical for methamphetamine production. Therefore, Hunter and Guttenberg’s claims were a somewhat less egregious tweak on a series of wholly indefensible statements made by former president Barack Obama. However, retail gun sales are far more restricted than sales of Claritin-D and other products containing pseudoephedrine.