Mil-Spec
By Robb Manning
Gun Industry Bites Back
In the Mil-Spec column I’m not going to write a lot about politics and policy, except when it pertains specifically to tactical firearms and accessories. News this week has led me to make one of those exceptions, and I’m happy to report that in the current anti-gun climate, it’s news I applaud.
For most of my adult life, as a gun owner and adamant supporter of our second amendment, I have watched as gun makers and firearms accessory makers have been bashed as being evil. Every time a shooting takes place, it’s the fault of the gun maker. Or the magazine maker. Or the ammo maker. I watched in the lead up to the 1994 Clinton Assault Weapons Ban as gun owners and makers were vilified. After decades of getting stepped on, insulted, and beat down, gun makers are finally starting to bite back.
In the months since the Sandy Hook shooting, a couple of states have passed laws imposing limits on gun ownership -- with the two biggest issues being the mis-labeled “assault weapons” and “high capacity magazines.” Note: those two terms are not accurate, but it’s the buzz words used by the media, and the media is predominantly anti-gun. Most of these laws are poorly thought out and have been rushed through so fast, they lack any kind of common sense, or more importantly, oversight. New York state is case in point where the laws were rushed through so fast they didn’t make provisions to allow law enforcement departments or Guard units to issue or use these type firearms. I’m also going to add, I have yet to see lawmakers talk about a new law that would prevent bad guys from getting guns, only law abiding citizens.
A handful of gun makers have had enough. These companies, in the states and communities that infringe upon the rights of law abiding citizens, are refusing sales of the banned items to Law Enforcement (LE) and government agencies. For example, if a particular firearm or 30-round magazine is banned, LE and government agencies will not be sold these items either.
The idea behind this is that the 2nd Amendment was designed to protect the people from a tyrannical government, and if a firearm is going to be withheld from the people, it should also be withheld from the government, so that those firearms cannot be used against the people.
Anti-gun people like to paint gun makers as being greedy, money-hungry entities that choose money over the lives of people. These gun makers are choosing principle over money. Contracts with LE and government are lucrative and are enough for a company to thrive on, without civilian sales. The fact that these companies are willing to take a huge hit to their pocket, to stand up for the principle of the 2nd Amendment.
The list of manufacturers started with six companies, but has in two weeks grown to 18 and counting. The initial six: Olympic Arms, La Rue Tactical, EFI LLC (Extreme Firepower), York Arms, Templar Custom, Cheaper Than Dirt. Additional companies have been joining the list and are continuing (full list with links below). I applaud these companies and will give them my support. I will also keep them in mind when it comes to making my future firearms purchases. I urge you to do the same. Also, if you know of a company that is not on the list, please consider sending them an email asking them to join the companies already on the list. It would be nice to get the big three providers of LE firearms on the list; Glock, Sig Sauer, and Smith & Wesson).
Additionally, a pro-2nd Amendment organization, Firearms Policy Coalition, has formed, and is urging gun owners to write manufactures to join the growing list of gun companies who are speaking out against anti-gun policies. Go to www.firearmspolicy.org.
A complete list of companies that have boycotted selling to LE & Government in anti-gun states (as reported from The Blaze, Feb 20, 2013):
- Olympic Arms, Inc
- La Rue Tactical
- EFI, LLC – Extreme Firepower
- York Arms
- Templar Custom
- Cheaper Than Dirt
- 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