Let’s not kid ourselves; the firearms industry is seeing some good balance sheets. In fact, they’ve seen spectacular sales ever since Barack Obama took office. As the president issues executive actions on gun control, one of the ironic aspects of the Obama legacy is that over 100 million guns have been sold since his 2009 inauguration. Nevertheless, on January 20, the first day of the Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade show (SHOT Show) in Las Vegas, Nevada, National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) president Steve Sanetti noted that the prolonged and incessant attack on the Second Amendment by the media and their like-minded friends in government has placed the industry on “alert” (via NSSF):
“We’ve been told that our industry ‘does nothing for gun safety.’ Yet between the manufacturers and the NSSF’s Project ChildSafe, we’ve distributed over 100 million free gun locks and safety materials, in cooperation with law enforcement in over 15,000 communities, in all 50 states during the last 15 years. Over 1,200 industry partners have signed on to our ‘Own It? Respect It. Secure It’ program, and the Project ChildSafe Foundation now accepts charitable contributions from anyone who wishes to help advance true gun safety. …”“Incredibly, some gun control groups actually object to our saving lives with this program because we don’t agree with their politics!
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“We think of the upcoming elections as a Presidential election. Indeed it is; but it is so much more. This election is about your entire government, right down to the local level, which ultimately will determine the courses of all our lives, our industry, and the way of life we treasure.” Emphasizing that those elections include possible vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court, new Federal Judge appointees, presidential department head appointees and dozens of Congressional seats are also at stake, just as are Attorneys General, mayors, city and town councils and judges on the local level, Sanetti continued, “Beware of politician’s’ statements that begin with, ‘I support the Second Amendment but…’ Check out how they vote; not just what they say. Some politicians who would do us in have come right out and said so—they’ve dropped all pretense of being respectful of lawful commence in firearms and have made it easy to choose. But make your choice known by educating all in this fine industry, through all the means at our disposal. And ultimately, by voting, and getting out the vote.”
Concluding his address, Sanetti said, “So ladies and gentlemen, the State of the Industry tonight is alert. Alert to the challenges we face. Alert to those who would destroy our livelihoods and our avocations. Alert to false friends and false promises and misrepresentations about us. Alert to the fact that all elections—all elections—have consequences. And above all, alert to the new, promising world of millions of law abiding American citizens who are joining our ranks in honest, lawful, and safe ownership and use of firearms.
With President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton using the United Kingdom and Australian models for gun control, which is centered on gun registries, bans, buybacks, and confiscation, the choice seems to be very clear to any gun owners and Second Amendment supporter capable of rational thought. Democrats are pushing legislation that would lay the legal groundwork for anti-gunner to sue the firearms industry out of existence. It has no chance of passing, but that’s not the point. It shows, as so often with liberal advocacy, that they’re willing to go down the undemocratic road of using the courts to push their agenda. Elections have consequences, even ones that don’t get national attention. One has to look no further than Richmond, Virginia, where Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat who barely won his 2013 race, decided to unilaterally eviscerate concealed carry reciprocity agreements with two dozen states.
In 2016, between the Republican field and the Democratic geriatric brigade, the choice is quite clear for any supporter of the Second Amendment. Yes, our heritage is, indeed, on alert.
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