Have Any More Gun Makers Stopped Selling To Anti-Gun States? (Hint: Yeah, Lots More)

Last Friday TheBlaze reported on a growing list of gun manufacturers and retailers who had stopped selling to law enforcement in states that were enacting stringent new gun laws.

Since that report, the initial list (seen below) has changed. However, none of the "big three" (Glock, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson) providers to law enforcement have stepped up and joined the companies who have chosen to take a public stand on the issue. In less than two weeks, at least 18 companies have made the decision to stop selling to law enforcement in states that limit a private citizen's right to own a gun.

• Olympic Arms, Inc
• La Rue Tactical
• EFI, LLC – Extreme Firepower
• York Arms
• Templar Custom
• Cheaper Than Dirt

There is one arms maker that has gotten attention for publicly stating that they will not be pressured into stopping sales to law enforcement. That company is ArmaLite.

According to posts on several gun-supporting blog sites, Armalite answered email inquires with some unwelcome attitude. This is the reply reportedly sent from a sales rep identified as Pat Raley.

Dear concerned gun owner,

First of all I would like to say thank you for filling my email with all this spam email.

Second, I am not sure where you got this blanket email from to send out as spam, but please stop it.

Third, The manufacturer is not the one you need to convince.

You need to convince the law enforcement agencies and the common people about their mistake in electing these officials and have them removed. Again NOT the manufacture.

AR Stands for ArmaLite…

Respectfully,

Pat Raley

The snarky tone of that note did not sit well with the very active pro-gun crowd in the blogosphere. It quickly circled the digital universe. Armalite's President Mark Westrom reportedly tried to do a little damage control and state his company's policy more clearly.

At first glance, Westrom's statement seemed to be along the lines of the companies who had chosen to stop selling to police in New York state.

My purpose here is to pass on his (Raley's) apology from the corporate level and to answer the initial question: What is ArmaLite going to do?

ArmaLite is continuing a policy put into place when California first banned our rifles. That policy remains:

1. We will not sell to those states which deny it's honorable citizens the right to own ArmaLite's.

That statement seems clear. It was the next couple of points that muddied the waters a bit (emphasis added by Armalite):

2. We do not halt sales to individual officers even in problematic states. I am a former Police Officer myself, and the staffer who stimulated the recent anger is a currently serving one. We are well familiar with the fact that most rifles serving Police Officers are purchased by the officers themselves, and that they shouldn't be punished for the actions of their political elite. 

We consider sales to those sate subdivisions which are not engaged or potentially engaged with disarming its citizens. DNR and Forestry Departments, for instance, sometimes serve in remote areas that conceal drug farms and their officers deserve good hardware.  

3. We will not sell to those lower political subdivisions that deny their honorable citizens the right to own ArmaLite's. Chicago, for instance, prohibits its citizens from owning ArmaLite's within the city limits so we make no effort to sell into that city. We have many friends on the Chicago Police Department and have continued to sell to them individually.

Westrom appears to be saying that they won't sell to police departments in states where the Second Amendment is being infringed, but will sell to individual officers in those states.

We reached out to the company for comment and have not yet gotten a response. Mark Westrom's voicemail seems to have been disabled or overwhelmed. Perhaps there is a connection there.

No matter what ArmaLite's stance may be, there are many new additions to our initial list published late last week.. Joining the expanding group are:

• 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

Bullwater, which does business as A&T Firearms, posted a statement on Facebook

Our small company, Bullwater Enterprises LLC dba A & T Firearms out of Sylvania, Georgia is also joining these companies in refusing to do business with any state that is trampling the constitution and Bill of Rights of their citizens. We will not sell anything to any governmental agency, their contractors or employees. We will sell all lawful items to all other citizens of those states. Andrew & Tracy Orphanoudakis.

West Fork Armory also chose the social media outlet for making a statement, and did so with a very clear graphic atop their post.

Image: Facebook

Their message:

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! All New York Government and official purchases from New York Law Enforcement agencies within that state are cancelled. All future sales will be suspended and firearm servicing is halted until your current bans further restricting law abiding citizens is lifted.

West Fork also named a couple of other states besides New York, while encouraging other companies to join them:

California you’re already on the list, and Colorado your borderline on the list. We suggest all other manufacturers and dealers do the same.

Arizona's Smith Enterprise posted a letter to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on its website. It shared some of the same sentiments as those who had joined the protest:

Until your state changes your gun control laws and ensures these laws are back in line with the 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution, Smith Enterprise will be forced to keep this policy.

At a time when crime is rampant and people are becoming more and more desperate due to the struggling economy, it is imperative that state and local governments support the people’s right to defend themselves from would-be attackers. The police have nothing to fear from law-abiding citizens with guns.

When you change your gun laws back to something more along the lines of what our country was founded on, please let me know and we will reopen our sales in your state to government agencies.

Image: Alex Arms website

Alex Arms is a firearms dealer, and on Sunday, they posted their new policy:

Alex Arms & Instruction has decided to adopt, as policy, that we will not sell firearms and accessories to any state or governmental agency in any state that prohibits the possession or use of said item by its citizens.

Curiously, Alex Arms has used the company's website to take a shot at one of their suppliers, Armalite. In a post from Monday, Alex Arms accused Armalite of "having no backbone." Going forward, Armalite products will not be stocked by Alex Arms until they change their policy.

You either support the Second Amendment, or you do not.  Armalite apparently does not.  They have drawn their line in the sand and have decided to stand on the side of tyranny instead of We, The People.

Spike's Tactical from Florida stated their policy on Facebook too:

In light of the recent and numerous anti-gun and anti-2nd Amendment laws pending across the Nation, Spike’s Tactical will be joining other manufacturers and distributors and limiting the business we do in states that have limited the right to keep and bear arms for their citizens.

 Idaho's Quality Arms, an AR-15 specialist, has added a page to their company's website titled "Liberty & Justice for All." On that page is a lengthy statement on the latest shootings and how the company feels some politicians are manipulating them for their own purposes. The page closes with this statement from Qaulity Arms:

Quality Arms Idaho

Will not supply any firearm or product, manufactured by us, or any other company nor will we warranty, repair, alter, or modify any firearm owned by any State, County or Municipality who infringes on the right of its citizens to bear arms under the 2^ndamendment.

David Saylors of Liberty Suppressors published this statement:

We at Liberty Suppressors have decided that we will no longer support the government that is oppressing the people that it was elected to represent. As of Feb. 18, 2013 and continuing until these draconian laws are repealed, Liberty Suppressors will not do business with any government entity in the state of New York until these laws are repealed.

Keep your powder dry,

David Saylors

President

Liberty Suppressors

DoubleStar Corp received almost 3,000 Facebook "likes" in the first 24 hours after they made this declaration:

The JTFOC will no longer sell prohibited items to law enforcement agencies or any government agencies in states, counties, cities, and municipalities that have enacted restrictive gun control laws against their law abiding citizens. We hope other companies will join us with their support. We applaud those already involved with this effort to protect our 2nd Amendment rights.

American Spirit Arms notched even more electronic "thumbs up" after joining the movement.

Count us in! American Spirit Arms will stand beside our fellow firearm manufacturers in the fight against new firearm legislation that imposes gun control on law-abiding citizens. As a firearm manufacturer, we are participating in the stance of only selling the firearms that law-abiding citizens can purchase in that state.

Another AR specialist, Trident Armory took a stand on Sunday night:

Sunday night, 9pm. As of this moment, all contract bids and offers, as well as any current production contracts for any and all US government agencies and affiliates by Trident Armory are null and void.

"We will no longer participate with, or work for a government where the "rights" of the people are able to be adjusted by the whim of the government"." I will not build guns which can be used to disarm my fellow Americans"

 

 David Hunsucker, CEO of Head Down Firearms encouraged other manufacturers to join his company and others:

Head Down would like to announce that the State of New York, any Law Enforcement Departments, Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders within the State of New York, or any New York State government entity or employee of such an entity - will no longer be served as customers. We feel that the passage of this legislation exceeds the authority granted to the government of New York by its citizens, and violates the Constitution of the United States. This announcement is effective today and applies to any and all states that may adopt such laws in the future.

Retailer J&G Sales has a special page dedicated to their position as it concerns sales to law enforcement. Part of the page long statement includes an admission that this decision will cost the company money:

J&G believes that there should not be a difference between the rights of citizens and those of government employees. This new policy will also help us to be sure we avoid the consequences of not conforming with the anti-firearm regulations in these various jurisdictions.

We expect to lose some revenue from government purchases, however we feel it is essential to defend the US Constitution by making a statement about the importance of the Second Amendment in maintaining all our freedoms.

We await the day when all law abiding citizens will be able to possess the most effective means and tools available for self-defense regardless of where they live or for whom they work.

In addition to the growing list of companies taking this action, there is an online coalition working to keep the pressure on manufacturers.

Image: Firearms Policy Coalition

Firearms Policy Coalition offers a digital option for those wishing to send an email encouraging companies to get on board with this movement. And for those who like snail mail, FPC offers a sample letter and a fairly comprehensive list of street addresses.

(H/T to NC Gun Blog for maintaining this list)

Editor's Note: TheBlaze's Mike Opelka joined Editor-in-Chief Scott Baker to discuss this story on Thursday's BlazeCast: