Firearms Manufacturers Boycott Anti-Gun States
BY Herschel Smith
11 years, 10 months ago
In Gun Companies Holding The States Accountable we discussed a two pronged approach to addressing the anti-gun legislation that is brewing in certain states, New York, Illinois and Colorado being three key locations. The first of the two prongs involves a refusal to sell to law enforcement when the weapons being sought are prohibited to non-law enforcement. At the time, LaRue Tactical, Olympic Arms, Templar Custom and Extreme Firepower had enacted policies against selling to law enforcement in New York. The second prong involved the courtship of firearms manufacturers to move to more gun friendly states. I have mentioned that Remington Arms, Rock River Arms, Springfield Armory and Kimber were prime candidates for this courtship, and I had made a special plea for Remington to relocate to South Carolina along with other firearms industries to move to the South in general. Since publication of these articles there have been other firearms manufacturers who have joined the boycott of New York law enforcement. Joining the expanding group are the following companies.
- Bullwater Enterprises
- Westfork Armory
- Smith Enterprise
- Alex Arms
- Spike’s Tactical
- Quality Arms
- Liberty Suppressors
- Doublestar Corp
- American Spirit Arms
- Trident Armory
- Head Down Products
- J&G Sales
Barrett Arms has also joined the group, issuing the following statement.
Barrett’s Position Regarding the Assault on Liberty February 20, 2013 Barrett opposes those who are illegally disarming the American public from their efficient arms and creating superior armed elitist government agencies. Elected state officials of New York, having been sworn to protect our Constitution, have instead committed an offense against it and their citizens by stripping inalienable rights duly protected and guaranteed under the Second Amendment. By their deliberate and sinister actions, these officials now cause their state and local policing agencies to enforce these unconstitutional and illegal so called “laws”. By current law, Barrett cannot be an accomplice with any lawbreaker, therefore, cannot and will not service or sell to New York government agencies. Barrett also applies this stance to the individual elected official who, as a matter of public record, has voted for or created regulation that violates the constitutional rights of their citizens. This is an expansion of our 2002 ban against the California government due to their second amendment infringements, and shall apply to any future violators.
Additionally, the states are lining up to court firearms manufacturers. South Carolina wants Remington and is telling them so. Magpul has threatened to leave Colorado if the law is passed prohibiting the very magazines (PMAGs) made in their factories. Alabama is recruiting Magpul, along with Texas, and Oklahoma is in competition with South Carolina in its quest for Remington. New York Governor Cuomo has stated that “There is no shortage of responsible venders who would want to assist New York’s law enforcement agencies keep New Yorkers safe.” Perhaps there are still those who will supply firearms and firearms parts and accessories to New York law enforcement. Colt is still smarting from losing the M4 contract with the Army. But the list of non-participants is dwindling rapidly, and it is best for reputable firearms manufacturers to make their decision sooner rather than later.
I had previously mentioned that I had sent notes to Smith and Wesson, Rock River Arms, Remington, Glock, Sig Sauer, Springfield Armory and Kimber asking for their official position on selling to law enforcement in states that have anti-gun policies. I have received no response from these companies. Making decisions of this kind are major events in the life of a company. Relinquishing revenue is serious stuff, and decisions like that are usually made at the board of directors level. On the other hand, gun companies who lead the pack are also usually rewarded in the American civilian market, and this market is far more valuable than law enforcement or even military. Pressure on these companies is appropriate, and they need to hear from you concerning the totalitarian measures being taken in anti-gun states. Who will be the first really large firearms company to refuse to sell to these states? Once this first domino falls, the rest will follow.
UPDATE #1: Michelle Malkin has an article up focusing mainly on manufacturing aspects of this issue, although also briefly discussing the boycott of anti-gun states. She has good information that complements my own.
UPDATE #2: reddit/guns has the most comprehensive list of companies to date that are participating in the boycott.
Courtesy of NC Gun Blog and refusetosell.org. It is still necessary for the large companies to participate. Reddit/guns has a list of e-mail addresses to whom you can write.
UPDATE #3: David Codrea has some salient thoughts. “I’m reminded of “Braveheart,” where the titled and propertied lairds cut their own deals with Longshanks and withdrew from the field, leaving the freedom fighters to take all the risks and suffer all the losses. It’s past time the entire industry was put on notice and then held accountable for any cowardice in this time of threat on all fronts.”
UPDATE #4: Thanks to Ron for the link at reddit/guns.
On February 22, 2013 at 3:13 pm, Doug said:
Companies who do not participate in the sales boycott will be duely noted and will not receive my financial support now or in the future. I can still vote with my feet and my wallet!!
Doug
On February 25, 2013 at 2:48 am, BigAl said:
The next step is to starve the Quislings.
Get pro 2A states to refuse to buy from companies that sell to anti-2A states.
Advertise the companies that sell to anti-2A states, and encourage alternatives to their products. Crush the worms.
On February 25, 2013 at 5:05 am, Akien said:
+1 on Doug’s comment. The major gun companies must join in; failure to do so will mean they lose a very large portion of the non-governmental market.
Should Smith & Wesson, Glock, Springfield, et al refuse to eliminate support for anti-gun governments, I would be willing to support local clubs, and sanctioning bodies, for that matter, who elected to handicap competitors using guns from turncoat companies. “Go ahead and shoot IPSC or IDPA with your Glock, we’ll add a 2 second penalty per stage.”
Which reminds me – where are the competitive shooters who are sponsored by the major gun companies in all this? Should USPSA, IDPA and ICORE be dumb enough to schedule major (read: regional or national level) matches in places like NY, IL, CO, CA would they attend?
And, along those lines, and while realizing that just about all states are in deep financial yogurt, since almost every shooting facility is privately owned, a certain amount of financial aid at the state level might be warranted to assist in construction and maintenance of world-class shooting facilities. There’s no reason SC, TN, AL, MS, TX can’t also compete for shooters at the “range construction” level as well.
My apologies to gun clubs and range owners in the commie states, but this is war, not patty-cake.
On February 25, 2013 at 5:54 am, Mauser said:
Wasn’t it Ruger that got into dutch with the firearms community a couple of decades ago for supporting a Gun Control plan that wouldn’t particularly affect its products?
Maybe Smith and Wesson and Glock et. al. should be reminded of that.
On February 25, 2013 at 7:46 am, Sean D Sorrentino said:
We’re up to 70 as of today. I’ve released the phone numbers of Glock, SIG, and Smith & Wesson. They supply duty handguns to the NYPD. I’m making it a direct counterattact on Nanny Bloomberg.
http://www.ncgunblog.com/new-york-boycott/
Reddit has stopped listing the gun companies because they can’t keep up.
On February 25, 2013 at 2:24 pm, Wes said:
One important pice of the puzzle that is currently missing is the AMMUNITION MANUFACTURERS. It is also time for them to walk away from their government and LE contracts until such a time as the citizens have all we want….I suggest contacting them as well!
On February 25, 2013 at 3:16 pm, Bucky Katt said:
Might want to check with Baretta as well. I think they are ready to move out of the PG County facility in Maryland if Martin O’Malley’s gun controls bills pass. WMAL had a story on this, this morning.
On March 1, 2013 at 10:59 pm, Brad Ervin said:
Why not put some heat under the pot and, collectively, refuse to buy from companies that supply guns and ammo to states that deny those items to citizens?
This isn’t an assault weapon ban. It’s a transfer of assault weapons from the hands of a formerly free people to the minions of their new masters.
On March 20, 2013 at 10:28 am, Blake said:
What about the 1.6 billion rounds of ammo that the DHS has ordered? Our troops training for deployment are using blanks, and yet the Social Security Administration has ordered 174,000 rounds for 300 agents, and the Fish and Wildlife service has procured 46,000 hollow-point rounds, I guess to put down any unruly trout.
On April 14, 2013 at 8:35 pm, Bruce said:
George Soros has been buying up ammunition manufacturers for the past 10 years. He has been a great influence on ammo shortage as he has decided who gets ammo and who doesn’t. I understand he has deliberately reduced ammo shipments for US domestic sales. His buddies in DHS and other departments are getting the lion share. This is only the tip of the iceberg for those who know much about Soros and other elitist behaviors. They have plans for us. It is a hell of a lot more than just guns. They will use food and food prices to manipulate you and poison you and make you infertile or sick with toxin and GMO food at the same time. How is that different than shooting at you. The bullets are not flying yet. But they are killing you and your children slowly as we speak with food, vaccines, and chem trails with toxins and metals. Did you know fluoride makes you complacent. You happily put into your body multiple times per day. Complacent people do not organize and rise up against oppression. They get to charge you when you seek medical treatment. It is a brilliant plan. They profit while they kill you slowly. After the USD currency crash and the switch to NWO (new gold backed international currency from IMF) electronic money, you will only be able to get food with the new money. A data base of gun owners based on nationwide background checks will allow them to know when you come to get your money for food that you have guns and you may have to give up your guns and ammo to feed your kids. It is easier than breaking down your door. Obama has signed +/- 1000 executive orders to take away everything, your food, your valuables, your home, give you the job, food, medical treatment, and place they want you to live (check it out for yourself before you bust my buttocks). You will work were they want you to work while they cull us out. Read the Georgia Guidestones. They always tell you what they are going to do to you (reduce the world population). They are training Russian troops on the US soil to work for DHS and drive there new light armored tanks. Russians will shoot Americans when veterans won’t. If you have been paying attention, they have been killing off our future leaders to weaken our ability to organize a militia. Our Seals and special forces are being systematically eliminated. The in your face obvious hit on Seals occurred when most of the Seals who got Bin Laden were ordered into a large slow moving helicopter (they never do that) and shot down. The remainder are being killed off slowly. If you get into the details of their missions you will see things do not add up. Benghazi is an everyday happening for our elite special forces but it doesn’t make the news unless you are following the military independent correspondents. It took an ambassador’s death in Benghazi to get our attention. They are covering it up right in your face. When government troops raid an Amish dairy farm with guns drawn because some little old Amish farmer is selling unpasteurized organic milk, something is drastically wrong. Pasteurized milk was made to make dirty milk drinkable. The only thing is, pasteurized milk will kill a calf, so why are we drinking it? Unpasteurized organic milk will give life. The FED is printing $85 billion per month to buy up the mortgages that failed. You are hearing about loose lending practices as we speak on the news. They are not propping up the economy, they are lying. The Fed creating debt and is buying up all the mortgages so when the currency crashes, the economy crashes, you lose your job and cannot make your mortgage payments, put gas in your car or buy food because of inflation and worthless paper money, they then take everything from you. If you are smart and planned for bad times, the executive orders allow them to take it from you under the guise of redistribution so everybody has a far shot. Have you heard it before? They don’t just want your guns, they want everything. When they get our guns, we are finished.