Hanging together, or hanging separately

The past few months have been trying for gun owners. 17 people were slaughtered in Parkland, Florida in a “gun free” zone. The police and school didn't make “mistakes” in not stopping the crime before it happened, they made a conscious choice to participate in the PROMISE program so that the killer would not be charged/convicted for previous crimes. (It might hurt someone’s feelings or disadvantage some criminals, uh, I mean students.)

Mark Walters opened his Armed American Radio show that day with a message to his audience. “It is not your fault.”

But Bloomberg was ready with an orchestrated movement of kids marching demanding “common sense” gun control. The media piled on blaming the NRA and gun owners. Even President Trump called on BATFE to look into banning bump stocks. The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature rushed through a bill that spent $400,000,000.00 to make their schools less safe. (Prohibiting schools from implementing the FASTER Saves Lives program and spending nothing on trauma equipment or training.)

Dick’s Sporting Goods (Field and Stream) announced that they would quit selling the AR-15 modern sporting rifle and they would not honor the Second Amendment rights of 18-20 year old adults by refusing to sell them firearms.

Out of this dark setting, came a shining light for all in the business to follow.

On May 3rd , Springfield Armory showed the industry how to react to this nonsense.

"ENESEO, IL, (05/03/18) – Springfield Armory is severing ties with Dick’s Sporting Goods and its subsidiary, Field & Stream, in response to their hiring a group for anti-Second Amendment lobbying.

"This latest action follows Dick’s Sporting Goods’ decision to remove and destroy all modern sporting rifles (MSR) from their inventory. In addition, they have denied Second Amendment rights to Americans under the age of 21. We at Springfield Armory believe that all law abiding American citizens of adult age are guaranteed this sacred right under our Constitution.

"It is clear where Dick’s Sporting Goods and its subsidiary, Field & Stream, stand on the Second Amendment, and we want to be clear about our message in response. Their position runs counter to what we stand for as a company. At Springfield Armory, we believe in the rights and principles fought for and secured by American patriots and our founding forefathers, without question. We will not accept Dick’s Sporting Goods’ continued attempts to deny Second Amendment freedoms to our fellow Americans.”

MKS followed suit:

MKS Supply, LLC, exclusive marketer for American-made Hi-Point Firearms and Inland Manufacturing, values the customers that it proudly serves and the God-given freedoms that they enjoy. Because the right to keep and bear arms was recognized by our founding fathers to be a fundamental right, they ensured its protection under the Second Amendment. Just as we show our commitment to our customers by standing behind our products, we believe it is equally important to show our commitment to our customers by standing behind their Second Amendment rights.

In recent months, Dick's Sporting Goods and its subsidiary, Field & Stream, have shown themselves, in our opinion, to be no friend of Americans' Second Amendment. We believe that refusing to sell long guns to adults under age 21, while many young adults in our military are not similarly restricted, is wrong. We believe that villainizing modern sporting rifles in response to pressure from uninformed, anti-gun voices is wrong. We believe that hiring lobbyists to oppose American citizens' freedoms secured by the Second Amendment is wrong. Dick's Sporting Goods and Field & Stream, in purportedly doing all of these things, have demonstrated that they do not share our values. MKS and Hi-Point will no longer sell firearms to Dick’s.

And Mossberg joined them.

NORTH HAVEN, CT – O.F.Mossberg & Sons, Inc., a leading American firearms manufacturer, announced today its decision to discontinue selling products to Dick’s Sporting Goods, and its subsidiary, Field & Stream, in response to their hiring of gunc ontrol lobbyists in April 2018.

Effective immediately, O.F.Mossberg & Sons will not accept any future orders from Dick’s Sporting Goods or Field & Stream, and is in the process of evaluating current contractual agreements.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

Gun owners and businesses do not just influence elections and political decisions, we control them.

When we choose to. Even the most anti-gun areas could not exist as they do without the gun rights community helping and enabling them.

When Glock, and Smith and Wesson, and Sig, Strum Ruger, Remington, Savage, Ithaca, Savage Arms, Henry, and others quit selling their products to Dick’s, Dick’s will not be safe.

When Kimber and Colt, Daniel Defense, Magpul, Surefire and others quit selling their products to police agencies that testify against citizens’ rights, they will quit fighting us and join us.

Franklin had another apt quote made about the signing of the Declaration of Independence, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Gun owners and manufacturers can learn a lot from one of our original patriots. We have leaders. Is the industry smart enough to follow suit?

Jim Irvine is President of the Buckeye Firearms Association. He is also recipient of the NRA-ILA's 2011 "Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award," the CCRKBA's 2012 "Gun Rights Defender of the Year Award," and the SAF's 2015 "Defender of Freedom Award."