As the Democratic majority in Colorado moves forward with a bevy of draconian gun control proposals including a ban on normal capacity magazines, at least one Colorado company is taking a stand.
Magpul Industries is a Colorado success story. The company, based in Erie Colorado, employs over 600 people either directly or indirectly and contributed over $85 million to the states economy in 2012. But that is about to change if the Democrats have their way.
Among other things, Magpul manufactures some of the most popular sporting magazines in the country and their manufacturing would have been banned by the initial version of the bill put forward by Democrats. Upon learning that the state might lose that most precious of commodities … tax money, the bill was quickly modified to exempt manufacturers.
But that is not good enough for the law-abiding gun owners of Colorado and it is not good enough for Magpul’s chief operating officer Doug Smith. In testimony before the Colorado House, he noted that if the bill passes, Magpul will be relocating regardless of any exemption they might enjoy. “If we were able to stay in Colorado and manufacture a product, but law-abiding citizens of the state were unable to purchase the product, customers around the state and the nation would boycott us for remaining here.”
Yesterday, as Colorado Democrats spread a rumor that the company is bluffing, Magpul posted this reply to their Facebook page. “We’re hearing some rumors that the Gov and the Dem caucus think we are bluffing. Just to clarify for them, then…we’re not a political company. We don[‘]t play political games. We’ve made our position very clear, very publicly. We would not survive lying to our customer base, nor would we ever consider it. If you pass this, we will leave, and you will own it. We’ve already got plans in place to get PMAG manufacturing moved rapidly, and the rest of the company will follow. We will make sure to at least have a small remain-behind operation through the 2014 elections so that we can remind folks why we are gone.”
And many of Magpul’s suppliers in Colorado appear willing to follow suit. Alfred Manufacturing in Denver is one such supplier. They have added over 110 jobs since 2008 as a direct result of their work with Magpul. CEO Greg Alfred made it clear that “We are in this together.”
And what exactly does that mean? Alfred has an answer. “If House Bill 1224 passes, we will relocate part or all of our operations out of state.” They have already suspended plans for a million dollar expansion project of their Denver facility. States under consideration are said to be Wyoming and Montana.
But Magpul and Alfred are not the only companies that are tired of seeing their tax dollars go toward destroying the very sport that gives them existence.
LaRue Tactical of Leander Texas has issued a press release announcing a new policy concerning sales to state and local law enforcement agencies.
They will now impose the same limits on law enforcement sales that civilians in the same locality are subject to.
“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.
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. In other words, LaRue Tactical will limit all sales to what law-abiding citizens residing in their districts can purchase or possess.
State and local laws have always been a serious focus of this firm, and we are now dovetailing that focus with the constitutional rights of the residents covered in their different areas by the old and new regulations.
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.
Thanks in advance for your understanding.
Mark LaRue”
Olympic Arms of Olympia Washington has instituted the same policy as LaRue Tactical. However, Olympic Arms doesn’t discuss the possibility of ‘legal errors’. Rather, they get right to the point.
“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.
Legislation recently passed in the State of New York outlaws the AR15 and many other firearms, and will make it illegal for the good and free citizens of New York to own a large selection of legal and safe firearms and magazines. We feel as though 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, ignoring such SCOTUS rulings as District of Columbia v. Heller – 554, U.S. 570 of 2008, McDonald v. Chicago – 561 U.S. 3025 of 2010, and specifically the case of United States v. Miller – 307 U.S. 174 of 1939.
Due the passing of this legislation, Olympic Arms 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.
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.
If the leaders of the State of New York are willing to limit the right of the free and law abiding citizens of New York to arm themselves as they see fit under the Rights enumerate to all citizens of the United State through the Second Amendment, we feel as though the legislators and government entities within the State of New York should have to abide by the same restrictions.
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. Olympic Arms will not support such behavior or policy against any citizen of this great nation.
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.
Sincerely,
Brian Schuetz
President
Olympic Arms, Inc.”
Olympic Arms went on to clarify the status of existing New York orders.
“For ‘civilian’ customers residing in New York:
At your choice, we will:
- Complete your order and ship to a dealer of your choice outside of NY
- Refund your payment in full
- Hold your items here for up to 6 months, at no charge – if you are in the process of leaving NY and taking residence in another state.
For LE/Govt customers in New York:
- Your orders have been cancelled.”
Well done Olympic Arms!
Extreme Firepower Inc. of Inwood West Virginia has also enacted a similar policy but goes one step further by refusing to sell anything to law enforcement in California, New York, Illinois and the District of Columbia.
“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. 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
EFI, LLC has registered with the DoJ CFLC program and we will sell any product that we legally can to the public. We will not, under any circumstances, sell any of our products to law-enforcement or state agencies until the California legislature repeals the gun control laws that have been enacted, as these entities have lobbied in favor of statewide gun bans.
EFI, LLC will not sell anything to the following local government agencies until their firearm and/or magazine restrictions have been repealed:
- City of Chicago, Illinois
- New York State
- Washington, DC”
Templar Custom is located in Apex North Carolina and develops ‘high-quality innovative custom firearms and components.’
Shortly after New York passed their unconstitutional law, Templar issued the following press release:
“New York State has recently passed the NY SAFE Act, which prohibits law-abiding New York citizens from purchasing and using many of the most common rifles, handguns, and shotguns in the United States, along with most standard magazines made for these firearms.
The law, rammed through the New York legislature in roughly 30 hours before the legislators themselves or the general public could respond, is a blatant violation of the New York State Constitution.
A plain, common-sense reading of the recent Heller decision also shows that the NY SAFE Act is also a blatant and purposefully affront to the Second Amendment of the United States, and is clearly not a constitutional law.
We cannot legally sell rifles to New Yorkers as private citizens.
We will not sell arms to agents of the state of New York that hold themselves to be “more equal” than their citizens.
As long as the legislators of New York think they have the power to limit the rights of their citizens, in defiance of the Constitution, we at Templar will not sell them firearms to enforce their edicts.
Templar Custom is announcing 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 will no longer be served as customers.
We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal. Before the law and before their creator, all people are equal. When the political class attempts to set itself above the people, we at Templar Custom will always side with the people.
We will also be reviewing the laws of the various states to determine if others will be joining New York on our “Do Not Sell” list.
Templar Custom 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.
Sincerely,
Bob Reynolds
President
Templar Custom, Inc.”
York Arms, located in Buxton Maine, was the next company to react to New York’s attack on the Constitution.
They issued a press release that cut right to the point.
“Based on the recent legislation in New York, we are prohibited from selling rifles and receivers to residents of New York.
We have chosen to extend that prohibition to all governmental agencies associated with or located within New York.
As a result we have halted sales of rifles, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, machine guns, and silencers to New York governmental agencies.”
More importantly, they joined Olympic Arms in canceling all existing New York Law Enforcement orders.
Cheaper Than Dirt needs no introduction from me. If you have been a gun owner longer than 15 minutes then you are aware of this giant of the mail order industry.
Cheaper Than Dirt briefly aroused the ire of gun owners by stopping certain online sales in the aftermath of Newtown but quickly saw the error of their ways as their customers let them know just how they felt about such a reaction to anti-gun hysteria.
Therefore, it is good to see Cheaper Than Dirt redeeming themselves by joining in the economic war against states that are effectively seceding from the Bill of Rights.
Their policy statement is short and to the point.
“It has been and will continue to be Cheaper Than Dirt’s policy to not to sell prohibited items to government agencies and/or agents in states, counties, cities, and municipalities that have enacted restrictive gun control laws against their citizens. We support and encourage other companies that share in this policy.”
And we should not forget the company that, in many ways, started it all. Ronnie Barrett of Barrett Firearms issued a boycott against sales and service to California law enforcement agencies back in September of 2012 when AB50 was signed into law.
“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.”
Where do we go from here?
So why does all this matter? Despite the inclusion of a few large suppliers, this relatively small number of manufacturers and dealers cannot really make a difference … can they?
Yes they can! Do you remember the 2013 Eastern Sports Show in Harrisburg Pennsylvania? No you do not! And the reason why is because one of the largest outdoor shows in the country was forced to cancel after nearly every vendor and potential attendee boycotted their decision to ban sporting rifles from the show.
But not all vendors canceled at once. It started with a few dedicated vendors who stood on principal and became a flood as gun owners discovered what was going on. The same dynamic will apply here if gun owners keep up the pressure.
And we certainly can. Have you tried to buy a sporting rifle or ammo lately? If you have any doubt that we have economic power then look no further than the shelves of your local gun store.
The real question is when will the ‘big’ manufacturers get on board? After all, as Brian Schuetz of Olympic Arms so aptly reminds us, “We must stand together, or we shall surely fall divided.”
In fact, should we as gun owners consider withdrawing our support from gun manufacturers who continue to enable these states? And what about those that remain in these states?
Think about this:
– Remington continues to operate their largest factory in Ilion New York.
– Beretta USA has their US headquarters in Accokeek, MD.
– Kimber has manufacturing facilities in both Yonkers, New York and Ridgefield, NJ.
Gun owners need to contact all of the major gun manufacturers and let them know that they need to mimic the policies put forth by Magpul, and Barrett, and Olympic Arms … and all of the other manufacturers and dealers who have stood up and said that no amount of government money is worth the destruction of the shooting sports!
And we need to consider no longer supporting those who ignore our request.
We have always had our hearts and minds in the fight. Now it is time to bring our wallets as well. This war has gone economic.
UPDATES: Almost as soon as this article was posted, I began receiving information about other companies that were taking a stand. Check back often for additional updates as they become available.
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