A warning to those who would oppose the American Gun Owner

I decided to write this blog post, not just as a warning or to chest thump, but to reflect on the power American  gun owners (AGOs) posses.

We should never forget what the gun owners, lead by the NRA and GOA did in 1994 after the passage of the unconstitutional "Assault Weapons Ban".
The following November ('94 Mid-Term Elections) became known as the "Republican Revolution".

In that election, nearly every Democrat running for re-election lost their seat and was replaced by a Pro-gun Republican. 
 This includes the Speaker of the House Tom Foley. He was the 1st sitting Speaker to loose a reelection since the Civil War.
Yet every Republican running for re-election held their seat.

In 2012, Debra Maggart of Tennessee, a Republican with a strong pro-Second Amendment record, went against a gun rights bill. In the next election she lost her support from the NRA and the NRA supported a newcomer in the Primary. Debra lost the primary by more than 16 percentage points. 

Over in Colorado, two Democrats lost their seats in the State Senate by way of recall. These two Democrats were behind a new bill that limited magazine capacity and required background checks on private sales of firearms.
Despite Bloomberg and his minions far outspending the recall effort (pouring more than $3 Million in to it) in the effort to save the Anti-gun Democrats, they still went home jobless.

Last year gun writer Dick Metcalf penned an article in Guns and Ammo Magazine, questioning whether or not we should cave into demands for restrictions on our Second Amendment Rights. The outrage was universal, Mr. Metcalf was immediately set free in the market place (although he will probably have to write reviews of floor mats now). In addition the editor in chief of Guns and Ammo also stepped down, admitting poor judgement in allowing the article to be published.
Guns and Ammo offered a quick apology (lest they suffer the full wrath of the AGOs) saying that "....Guns and Ammo will never fail to vigorously lead the struggle for our Second Amendment rights"

A similar fate hit Jim Zumbo who voiced his support for semi-auto gun bans....his show was canceled and he is no longer being heard from.

Jerry Tsai, editor of Recoil Magazine, suffered for his comments that full-auto guns should never be made available to the public. Advertisers pulled their spots, subscribers cancelled their subscriptions and ol' Jerry was forced to resign his post.

In 2008 Dan Cooper of Cooper Firearms in Montana was removed from his post as CEO of the company due to his support of Obama and his policies (which include gun restrictions and bans).

 Perhaps some of you remember what happened to Smith & Wesson in the year 2000. If not, let me fill you in:
In 1987 Smith & Wesson was bought by a British engineering firm called Tompkins PLC (from Bangor Punta) for the sum of 112 Million Dollars.
These Brits were completely unaware of the power the American Gun Owners wielded and in March of 2000, they made a deal with the devil.
The devil of course was the Democrat (read Communist) in the White House, Mr. Bill Clinton.
 
Tompkins agreed to limits on production & distribution, limits on sales as well as design changes (for the children don'tcha know...). In exchange Smith & Wesson would be granted immunity from the numerous lawsuits from "victims of gun violence" . You may remember Republican George W Bush signed a law that prevents people from suing gun companies for the actions of criminals( The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act).

Gun clubs, gun rights groups and gun owners across America boycotted Smith & Wesson products. Sales dropped by more than 40%. Tompkins was forced to suspend production at some of the S&W plants, laying off employees.

Saf-T-Hammer (a contractor the worked with S&W) along with some other investors, offered to buy Smith & Wesson. Tompkins was forced to sell the company for a paltry 15 Million Quid....
The new company was called Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (SWHC).
The Tompkins folks had to hitch a ride back across the pond with their tails between their legs.  
The new company (SWHC) renounced the agreement publicly and rebuilt Smith & Wesson's standing with the AGOs. Between 2003 and 2013, S&W's sales grew five fold.

On a similar note, the 2013 Eastern Sports and Outdoor show was cancelled when the organizers (Reed Exhibitions) decided to disallow the sale or display of black rifles and high capacity magazines at the show. Cablea's immediately pulled out, quickly followed by nearly all the vendors/sponsors. 
The cascading effect concluded with the show being cancelled. The dirt-bag organizers refused to admit their mistake, saying "....the atmosphere of this year’s show would not be conducive to an event that is designed to provide family enjoyment." Whatever the hell that is supposed to mean...
The economical impact to the surrounding community of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania was said to be in excess of $80 million.

The NRA took over the organizing of the show, now called "The Great American Outdoor Show", the 2014 event was one of the biggest in the 60+ year history with over 200,000 attendees.

In other news dozens of gun makers have been moving from anti-gun states and settling in more gun friendly states like Texas, Tennessee and South Carolina. The Exodus will take jobs and tax money from anti-gun states and put it where the employees and politicians are American Gun Owners.


Now there are rumblings amidst the American Gun Owning public of boycotting Remington because they accepted a large order ($80 Million worth) of rifles from The State of New York. 

There has been a growing list of manufactures that have sworn to refuse to sell guns to the State of New York or any municipality residing in New York. 
While Remington said the contract had been in the works for several years, long before New York passed the unconstitutional S.A.F.E. Act.

This could be another rough chapter in the history of Remington, a company that more than once has been on the brink of bankruptcy. Although they are now owned by a conglomerate, a boycott could still be devastating.



Resources
Washington Times
USA Today
Freedom Outpost
Guns and Ammo Magazine
Wikipedia
Business Insider
CNS News
Washington Post