Liberty-minded firearm companies concerned about recent assaults on the gun rights of law-abiding citizens by Obama and others are taking action to defend the Second Amendment even if it means lost revenue, with several major firms announcing that they would no longer be supplying equipment to hostile state and local governments or their police forces. Both New York and California — where out-of-touch politicians continue to trample on citizens’ constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms — have become primary targets. Activists and the companies are urging others to join the effort against more gun control now.
Among the manufacturers that have publicly announced their plans to prohibit sales to anti-Second Amendment authorities so far are LaRue Tactical, Olympic Arms, Extreme Firepower (EFI, LLC), and Barrett Firearms. All four firms, in solidarity with citizens in jurisdictions victimized by a lawless political class that refuses to uphold the Constitution, have expressed strong support for Americans’ unalienable rights. Gun rights activists nationwide rushed to celebrate the companies’ valor.
If citizens cannot purchase certain guns or accessories in places such as California, Chicago, or New York, then authorities cannot either, the companies essentially announced. In a press release posted online on Tuesday praising the Constitution and Bill of Rights, Olympic Arms President Brian Schuetz urged all firearm manufacturers to join the boycott effort, saying that they should stand together to repel politicians’ hostile assaults on the rights of citizens.
“Olympic Arms is a staunch believer in and defender of the Constitution of the United States, and with special attention paid to the Bill of Rights that succinctly enumerates the security of our Divinely given Rights. One of those Rights is that to Keep and Bear Arms,” Schuetz said in the statement, which was widely lauded by gun rights activists. “Olympic Arms invites all firearms manufacturers, distributors and firearms dealers to join us in this action to refuse to do business with the State of New York. We must stand together, or we shall surely fall divided.”
According to the major Washington State-based gun manufacturer, which also supplies all branches of the U.S. armed forces, legislation passed in New York purporting to outlaw AR15s and a wide range of other firearms is unconstitutional. The so-called “NY SAFE Act” — a bill that has sparked what analysts say may be the largest act of civil disobedience in state history, with potentially tens of thousands of citizens or more refusing to comply — also ignores recent Supreme Court rulings, the company said.
Due to the passing of the unconstitutional legislation, the company announced that the State of New York, law enforcement departments, police officers, state government entities, and all government employees in the state would no longer be served as customers. “In short, Olympic Arms will no longer be doing business with the State of New York or any governmental entity or employee of such governmental entity within the State of New York — henceforth and until such legislation is repealed, and an apology made to the good people of the State of New York and the American people,” the press release explained.
Schuetz also said that if the political class was willing to limit the gun rights of free and law-abiding citizens of New York in spite of the Second Amendment, lawmakers and government entities in New York should have to abide by the same restrictions. There is also a deeply troubling moral element to the state government’s latest assault on the rights of law-abiding citizens, which are enshrined in the state Constitution using language even stronger — “cannot be infringed” — than that found in the Second Amendment.
“This action has caused a division of the people into classes: Those the government deems valuable enough to protect with modern firearms, and those whose lives have been deemed as having less value, and whom the government has decided do not deserve the right to protect themselves with the same firearms,” Schuetz said. “Olympic Arms will not support such behavior or policy against any citizen of this great nation.”
Another major, respected firm that joined in the effort to rein in lawless politicians’ assaults on the right to keep and bear arms is LaRue Tactical, which manufactures a broad range of parts and firearm accessories. In a press release posted over the weekend, the Texas-based firm — described by analysts as “a company of patriots” — also announced that it would apply all state and local restrictions imposed on the rights of citizens to the governments and agencies imposing the unconstitutional infringements.
“Due to the recent and numerous new Anti-gun/Anti-2nd Amendment laws passed and/or pending across our country, LaRue Tactical has been forced to reconsider how we provide products to state and local agencies,” company chief Mark LaRue said in the statement. “Effective today, in an effort to see that no legal mistakes are made by LaRue Tactical and/or its employees, we will apply all current State and Local Laws (as applied to civilians) to state and local law enforcement/ government agencies.”
LaRue also noted that it takes seriously the constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens, as well as the efforts of state and local officials to restrict those rights. “We realize this effort will have an impact on this firm’s sales — and have decided the lost sales are less danger to this firm than potential lawsuits from erroneous shipments generated by something as simple as human error,” the statement concluded.
While the loss of revenue from the move may be significant, gun rights activists have showered the company with applause for its courageous stand — and some commentators expect the bold move to earn new customers for the firm that could minimize the financial impact. Activists, meanwhile, are urging gun rights supporters to contact other firearm manufacturers that do still sell to New York government agencies and encourage them to take a similar stand.
“The Second Amendment has always had fair-weather friends. LaRue Tactical, manufacturers of firearms and firearm accessories, is one company that will never be accused of being our fair-weather friend,” noted the liberty-minded Grass Roots North Carolina organization in a statement praising the move and identifying companies such as Glock, Smith & Wesson, and SIG Sauer that should join the effort. “Will other firearm manufacturers have the guts to stand up like LaRue and Barrett do?”
Another company that has joined the effort to defend the Second Amendment, Extreme Firepower (EFI, LLC), recently updated the government-sales policies on its website to explain its restrictions on selling to anti-gun rights authorities. Announcing the move on Facebook in January, the firm encouraged people to support boycotting sales to towns, counties, states, and even the federal government if they refuse to respect the right to keep and bear arms. It also warned other manufacturers that they may face boycotts themselves if they put profits over citizens’ rights.
“The Federal Government and several states have enacted gun control laws that restrict the public from owning and possessing certain types of firearms. Law-enforcement agencies are typically exempt from these restrictions,” the firm notes on its website. “EFI, LLC does not recognize law-enforcement exemptions to local, state, and federal gun control laws. If a product that we manufacture is not legal for a private citizen to own in a jurisdiction, we will not sell that product to a law-enforcement agency in that jurisdiction.”
California is specifically mentioned on the policy page, with EFI stating that it will not, “under any circumstances,” sell its products to law enforcement or state agencies until the legislature repeals its unconstitutional gun control laws. Other governments prohibited from purchasing the firm’s reputable equipment include New York State as well as the City of Chicago and Washington, D.C. — jurisdictions with among the most draconian infringements on the rights of law-abiding citizens.
The recent surge in companies refusing to do business with lawless governments hostile to citizens’ rights may have been partly inspired by Ronnie Barrett, owner and CEO of Barrett Firearms Manufacturing. His company, which produces among the most popular .50-caliber weapons in the world, refused to sell the firearms to officials or agencies in California after lawmakers there some years ago banned civilian ownership of the high-caliber guns.
“It’s hard to believe we live in such a dark time that someone has actually banned a single shot rifle. But as you will see, this is the cleverest of all gun bans, and the end goal is civilian disarmament, the confiscation of your tools of liberty, your rifles,” the respected CEO wrote in a piece at the time explaining his company’s boycott. “Barrett cannot legally sell any of its products to lawbreakers. Therefore, since California’s passing of AB50, the state is not in compliance with the US Constitution’s 2nd and 14th Amendments, and we will not sell nor service any of our products to any government agency of the State of California.”
Gun rights activists celebrated the decisions of the four companies to stand up for the rights of Americans. Analysts expect more firms to stand up soon, noting that otherwise, gun owners may choose to purchase from other manufacturers in the future. Across America, state governments, sheriffs, and even some city and county governments are working hard to protect the right to keep and bear arms regardless of any unconstitutional federal “laws” or edicts from President Obama to the contrary. Activists say it is time for all gun makers to join the effort or potentially face a boycott themselves.
Alex Newman is a correspondent for The New American, covering economics, politics, and more. He can be reached at [email protected].
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