Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. CEO Mark Smith has had it with the anti-gun politicians in Congress like Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). He noted that they are trying to blame firearm manufacturers like his for the surge in crime. Rather, Smith notes, it is their own policies that are to blame.
To be clear, a Smith & Wesson firearm has never broken into a home; a Smith & Wesson firearm has never assaulted a woman out for a late-night run in the city; a Smith & Wesson firearm has never carjacked an unsuspecting driver stopped at a traffic light. Instead, Smith & Wesson provides these citizens with the means to protect themselves and their families.
I like the cut of this guy’s jib!
You can read the whole response which I have embedded below. He takes no prisoners and nor should he.
When I arrived at the George Brown Center for the NRA Annual Meeting this morning, I saw about four protestors. A few hours later, the number had increased to about 100-150 being generous. I could be off on my numbers but they seemed to bunch up along a barrier to give the impression of more.
I heard later that Robert Francis O’Rourke was speaking at an anti-gun rally in the park across from the convention center. It is disturbing that he is trying make political hay while many of the details are still not known and families are grieving. I agree with the Mayor of Uvalde when he called O’Rourke ”a sick son of a bitch.” Fortunately, O’Rourke is behind Gov. Greg Abbott by anywhere from 7% to 10% if the polls are accurate.
The demonstrators across the street were loud, were lead in chants by someone with a megaphone, had a drum, and played it up whenever they saw a TV camera. They also were a bit vulgar as the photo below illustrates.
Behind the sign saying “NRA Go Away” was a protestor with a megaphone who seemed to be the chant leader.
As you can see from that picture and the one below, whenever the media or photographers were there taking pictures, the crowd played up to them.
There were a lot of people attending the NRA Annual Meeting who were filming it and taking pictures with their phones. I know a lot found the whole group of protestors to be more of an amusing circus act than anything else.
It will be interesting to see if they will continue to have their anti-rights protests again tomorrow. If so, I’ll try to get more and better pictures.
An alternate title could be “How to Drive A 165 Year Old Business Out of Your State in Order to Appear Woke”.
What I’m referring to is the decision by Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. to relocate their headquarters and a significant part of their firearms manufacturing from Springfield, Massachusetts to Maryville, Tennessee. While they will have a number of jobs left in Massachusetts, they expect to have over 750 jobs in Maryville with employees relocating from their operation Massachusetts, Missouri, and Connecticut. The move comes due to proposed anti-gun legislation in Massachusetts.
SCCY Firearms had proposed moving much of their operations to Maryville but last year decided to expand in Daytona Beach, Florida instead. They closed their Maryville plant. I wonder if S&W will be using any part of that.
As a resident on the other side of the Smokies, I say welcome to the Great Smoky Mountains.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Sept. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. , one of the nation’s oldest firearms manufacturers, announced today that it is moving its headquarters and significant elements of its operations to Maryville, Tennessee in 2023. Smith & Wesson has been based in Springfield, Massachusetts since the company was incorporated in 1852.
Mark Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, said “This has been an extremely difficult and emotional decision for us, but after an exhaustive and thorough analysis, for the continued health and strength of our iconic company, we feel that we have been left with no other alternative.” He specifically cited legislation recently proposed in Massachusetts that, if enacted, would prohibit the company from manufacturing certain firearms in the state. “These bills would prevent Smith & Wesson from manufacturing firearms that are legal in almost every state in America and that are safely used by tens of millions of law-abiding citizens every day exercising their Constitutional 2nd Amendment rights, protecting themselves and their families, and enjoying the shooting sports. While we are hopeful that this arbitrary and damaging legislation will be defeated in this session, these products made up over 60% of our revenue last year, and the unfortunate likelihood that such restrictions would be raised again led to a review of the best path forward for Smith & Wesson.”
Smith indicated that the company vetted a number of cities and states and, after careful consideration, made the decision to relocate 750 jobs and its headquarters to Maryville, Tennessee. The key factors in the decision included the following:
Support for the 2nd Amendment
Business friendly environment
Quality of life for employees
Cost of living and affordability
Access to higher education institutions
Availability of qualified labor for its operations and headquarter functions
Favorable location for efficiency of distribution
Smith continued, “The strong support we have received from the State of Tennessee and the entire leadership of Blount County throughout this process, combined with the quality of life, outdoor lifestyle, and low cost of living in the Greater Knoxville area has left no doubt that Tennessee is the ideal location for Smith & Wesson’s new headquarters. We would like to specifically thank Governor Lee for his decisive contributions and the entire state legislature for their unwavering support of the 2nd Amendment and for creating a welcoming, business friendly environment.”
Smith & Wesson will also close facilities in Connecticut and Missouri as part of consolidating in Tennessee. This process will result in the company reducing the number of locations it maintains from four to three and will significantly streamline its manufacturing and distribution operations.
The company emphasized that the move will not begin until 2023 and will not have an impact on employees’ jobs until then. “Our loyal employees are the reason for our success and are always our number one priority. We are deeply saddened by the impact that this difficult decision will have on so many of our dedicated employees, but in order to preserve future jobs and for the viability of our business in the long term, we are left with no choice but to relocate these functions to a state that does not propose burdensome restrictions on our company.” Smith said. “We are making this announcement now to ensure that each employee has the time to make the decision that is right for them and their families. We are firmly committed to working on an individual level with each and every one of those who will be affected. We will assist any affected employee who is willing and able to move with financial and logistical relocation assistance. However, we also fully realize that this is simply not feasible for some. Therefore, for any affected employee who cannot move with us, we will offer enhanced severance and job placement services. We understand that this announcement will be very difficult for our employees, and we will do everything we can to assist them during this transition,” Smith said. All employees whose jobs are moved will be given these offers.
Key Facts:
The facility in Springfield, Massachusetts will be reconfigured but will remain operational.
Smith & Wesson will keep some of its manufacturing operations in Springfield, Massachusetts, including all forging, machining, metal finishing, and assembly of revolvers, and will continue to have over 1,000 employees in the state.
The new facility will be built in Maryville, Tennessee and will comprise of the company’s headquarters, plastic injection molding, pistol and long gun assembly, and distribution.
Total investment in the project is estimated at $120 million, will be funded from cash on hand, and is expected to be accretive to EPS by $0.10 to $0.12 per year once fully operational.
Construction in Maryville, Tennessee is expected to begin in the calendar fourth quarter of 2021 and be substantially complete by the summer of 2023.
Upwards of 750 jobs will move from Springfield, Massachusetts; Deep River, Connecticut; and Columbia, Missouri to Maryville, Tennessee.
The company’s plastic injection molding facility in Deep River, Connecticut, which services both Smith & Wesson as well as a significant number of external customers, will be sold. The Smith & Wesson portion of the operations will be moved to the new facility in Maryville, Tennessee, however, the external customer business will remain in Connecticut and will be divested.
The company’s distribution operations in Columbia, Missouri will be moved to the new facility in Maryville, Tennessee, and the Columbia, Missouri facility will be marketed for sublease.
The relocation will have no impact on the company’s operations in Houlton, Maine.
The following editorial was written by my friend “ScotShot”. He is a resident of New Jersey and a firearms trainer. ScotShot is a NRA Training Counselor, a USCCA instructor, and a CCW instructor. He is also the co-founder with Klint Macro of National Train-A-Teacher Day. He has a greater appreciation for the US Constitution and especially the Second Amendment than many. That is because he grew up in a country which has no written constitutionand no such protections.
All of us gun owners across the country have been
watching, and shaking our heads with a sort of wizened “told you so”, at the
stories of people suddenly rushing to buy guns and ammunition, thanks to this
new virus from China.
We’ve reserved particular attention, and rightly so, for
our more liberal brothers and sisters who previously eschewed firearms
ownership. In most states, the worst they’ve had to deal with is a long line,
or perhaps a government mandated waiting period. Oh and yup, the mental butt
hurt that comes from realizing that their favorite 2A loophole (the internet,
gunshows, the gun-fairy..) doesn’t exist. You’d think they’d be pleased, except
now they’re learning the hard way.
Of course, in some States, it’s even more difficult,
which makes the residents of those States more at the mercy of their
Government. Let’s consider what the situation is in New Jersey, which vies with
California to have the most restrictive death-grip on the 2nd Amendment Rights
of its Citizens.
In New Jersey, if you want to buy a firearm for the first time, you need to apply for and obtain a “Firearms Purchaser Identification Card”, the FPID card. Getting one is tedious but straightforward, but usually takes around three months. So, right there, people who want to buy their first firearm in NJ as a result of this viral crisis are, as they say, S.O.L. So, no lines of frustrated gun-newbs in NJ.
“BUT!”, you say, “at least existing gun owners can get a handgun, all those over-under-only hunters and skeeters, can still protect themselves, right?” Sadly, no; to buy a handgun, FPID holders must first get a “Permit to Purchase a Pistol.” Getting one (or two, or as many as you want), is tedious but straightforward and yes you guessed it, usually takes around three months. So, no handgun for you, Elmer; you’d best resort to the Biden Protocol. Oh, you can only get one handgun a month, so too bad if something dramatic happens and you need more, like now.
Photo from Gov. Phil Murphy’s Facebook page
Nevertheless, law-abiding FPID card owners flooded their local FFLs and consequently flooded the NICS system. Enter villain number two, the NJ State NICS System. NJ is one of the states that gets between its gun-buyers and the Federal NICS system. Soon, the NJ NICS had a backlog of over 1,000 applications and then quickly announced that it was swamped and was unlikely to be able to process these in anything other than geological time. Then, the Governor closed the NJ NICS system, after not protecting gun stores and training facilities as essential, mandating their closure. Now, that’s no guns for anyone.
On Saturday March 21, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy announced he is putting New Jersey in lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus. Per Executive Order 107, he is ordering the residents of New Jersey to stay home, directing all non-essential retail businesses closed to the public. At this time, the order includes New Jersey Firearms State Licensed Dealers. The New Jersey State Police NICS Unit is directing the vendor of the NICS Online Application (NICUSA) to turn off the NICS Online Services for submitting NICS transactions by eliminating the “Request Form” button, effective 9:00pm EST, Saturday, March 21, 2020. You will still have the ability to view the message board and the status of previously submitted transactions. This “Request Form” feature will remain off until further order by Governor Murphy.
All of this of course, against a background of a governmental supermajority that supports even greater restrictions on 2A rights, firearm types and features, ammunition registrations and so on.
Hopefully, our new brothers and sisters in most states
are getting what they want, and feel secure. Hopefully, they will go forward
from this viral crisis and obtain proper training on the safe and efficient
handling and use of their chosen firearms and hopefully, that will be happening
all across our great country.
It’s won’t be happening in New Jersey though. In New
Jersey, the State Government will use this crisis to increase its grip on the
lives of the people who live here, and their dependency on the government
spoon.
Letitia James is the Attorney General of New York. She recently published her 2019 Year in Review. Reading through this 62 page report gives you some indication of her attitudes and intentions towards gun owners and gun rights groups.
Michael Bane often says on his podcast that if someone says they plan to do you harm, take them at their word. James said in her campaign platform she intended to investigate the charitable status of the NRA. Indeed, that was the number one item on her bullet list dealing with “gun violence” (sic).
As we know, her office has followed through on that threat. The letter that prefaces her 2019 Year in Review noted that she had “opened an investigation into the NRA’s charitable practices “.
Pages 43 and 44 deal with her plans regarding firearms.
Gun violence is a public health epidemic in New York and across the nation. Every loss of life and injury from gun violence is a devastating reminder of our shared responsibility to face this crisis head on and to support the communities that have suffered from its effects. Attorney General James is committed to catching criminals who traffic illegal weapons onto our streets, and holding them accountable. She has taken legal action to protect states’ rights to enact common sense gun safety regulations, including leading a multistate coalition to protect New York’s right to implement these critical measures, which is currently being heard by the United States Supreme Court. She has also partnered with law enforcement agencies across the state to host gun buyback programs and get illegal guns out of our communities. She will continue to pursue every avenue available to reduce gun violence in New York.
By stating that the criminal misuse of a firearm is a “public health epidemic”, James conveniently sidesteps criminal justice steps targeted at the violent criminal actors. Criminal justice is actually not high on her radar if you read the highlights of her annual report. It appears she is more interested in abortion rights, climate change, and protecting New Yorkers “regressive Federal policies” of the Trump Administration than even “gun violence” (sic).
I find it interesting that she resorts to “states’ rights” to defend the repressive gun control laws in her state which leave the poorest at the mercy of criminals. John C. Calhoun would be proud of her use of states’ right to defend the indefensible. He used it to defend slavery and she uses it to defend the denigration of the right to keep and bear arms.
With regard to so-called “ghost guns”, she devotes a whole paragraph to them
The New York Attorney General’s Office was the first law enforcement agency in the nation to charge people for selling so-called ghost guns, or guns that are manufactured from parts sold over the Internet. These guns do not have serial numbers, so they are untraceable by law enforcement. Continuing on these enforcement efforts, in September 2019, Attorney General James directed 16 websites to cease and desist selling nearly complete assault weapons to consumers in New York. Attorney General James will continue to go after those that skirt the law to manufacture illegal and deadly assault weapons.
She then goes on to tout her support for gun buybacks.
Our neighborhoods are safer when unwanted firearms are off our streets and out of our homes. Attorney General James’ Gun Buyback Program provides a safe option for New Yorkers to get rid of guns they do not want, on a “no questions asked” basis. In 2019, Attorney General James partnered with local law enforcement agencies to host 24 gun buyback events at houses of worship and community centers all across the state. As a result of these events, the office recovered over 2,700 guns.
So in one paragraph she opines that “ghost guns” are unserialized making them untraceable by law enforcement. Then she proudly states she provided a safe option to get rid of guns people didn’t want on a no questions asked basis. I can’t be the only one to see the contradiction here. She is against guns being untraceable but is OK with guns actually used in violent crimes not being able to be traced to the violent criminal.
Finally, for some reason, she lumps police body cameras in with her section of “gun violence” (sic).
Pennsylvania State Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell (D-Philadelphia) was indicted yesterday on charges stemming from her theft of over $500,000 from a charity she founded.
The Philadelphia Inquirer details Johnson-Harrell’s anti-gun activism in this story.
Johnson-Harrell, the first female Muslim member of the House, came to office with the intensely personal story of having endured the shooting deaths of her father, brother, cousin and 18-year-old son. She campaigned on a platform of ending gun violence, and is active in an anti-gun violence foundation named for her son Charles, who was shot to death in 2011.
The criminal complaint against Rep. Johnson-Harrell lists a variety of charges against her. They include two counts of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, perjury, two counts of tampering with public records, and reporting by candidates and political committees.
Shapiro said the defendant personally spent more than $500,000 from Motivations Education & Consultation Associates, or MECA, on vacations, designer clothing, luxury car payments, real estate purchases, past-due mortgage payments, and other personal expenses.
“When corruption erodes the trust that is built between governmental entities and citizens, no one wins,” Shapiro said. “I’ve said time and time again as Attorney General that no one is above the law, no matter their position of power. And today is no different.”
“Representative Johnson-Harrell continuously diverted Medicaid and social security disability funds from her charity to help Philadelphia’s most vulnerable communities for her own personal use. She spent almost $15,000 on clothing, including online shopping sprees at Ralph Lauren and fox fur coats. She traveled to Mexico, Orlando, Georgia and Maryland on lavish trips costing $16,000 of MECA funds,” Attorney General Shapiro said. “She spent $2,000 on overdue car payments on her Porsche. Another $4,000 on tuition for a relative. And, she spent almost $20,000 on overdue mortgage payments.”
Johnson-Harrell earned a salary of $89,000 while serving in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and had left a job with the Philadelphia DA’s Office as a victim’s advocate which paid $104,000 yearly. It is reported that her thefts from MECA continued while she was working for the DA’s Office as well as in her elected position.
According to her official legislative biography, Johnson-Harrell was a community college graduate who went on to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Ivy League University of Pennsylvania. Reading between the lines, with an age of 53 and her high school diploma date of 1997, she was an adult student when she completed her education. For someone her age, her high school graduation normally would have been in the 1984-85 time period.
Johnson-Harrell was elected in a special election in March to replace Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown (D-Philadelphia). Rep. Brown resigned from office in December 2018 after being sentenced for bribery and other charges. The Attorney General’s Office says Johnson-Harrell will be pleading guilty and will resign from office effective December 13th.
I just received this text from a number listed as being in Charlotte, North Carolina. Obviously, I’m not Kimberly nor is that the name of anyone in our extended family. Hmm.
The next question I had was who is David Wilson Brown and where is he running for Congress. I consider myself politically aware on both local, state, and national politics but the name just didn’t ring a bell.
Shame on me! Brown is the Democrat nominee for the NC 10th Congressional District which I just happen to live in. He is opposing Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) who is currently the Chief Deputy Majority Whip.
So I go to his website to check out his position on the issues. It is what one would expect.
School vouchers, against.
“Women’s Health”, pro-abortion and free contraceptives.
Jobs, ignoring the fact that we are at almost full employment, he calls for a new WPA/CCC (Works Progress Administration/Civil Conservation Corps). Shades of FDR and the New D
Taxes, it is our patriotic duty.
Religious freedom, for except when it goes against his sacred cows.
OK but what about gun rights? When a politician refers to “gun safety”, you know they mean gun control. It sure as hell isn’t about the Four Rules or training.
The Second Amendment provides the right to bear arms, but some are quick to dismiss the “well-regulated” part. We need common sense gun regulation that enforces current law and adds further safeguards to keep guns out of the wrong hands. Recent polls show 94% of Americans are in favor of background checks for all gun purchases. This needs to happen immediately. The gun show loophole must be closed. We need to encourage responsible gun ownership that comes with safety training. There must be a way that responsible gun owners can continue to own and use their weapons while still maintaining reasonable control on the dissemination of firearms to those who should not have them.
Given Brown has raised $40,00 +/- versus McHenry’s $2.7 million and has a mere $3,550 cash on hand, his only chance is to have a great grass roots network. As that text indicates, I think that is kind of doubtful. However, when an anti-gunner is figuratively shooting himself in the foot, you don’t correct him.
Mayor Nancy Vaughn of Greensboro, NC announced after the Parkland murders that she would seek to end the Greensboro Gun and Knife Show held semi-annually at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Greensboro City Council was in agreement. The only problem is that they didn’t have the authority to do that.
So they invited citizens to make their voices heard – assuming it would be anti-gun – during the public comment period on the April 3rd meeting. I think they heard more than they expected but not exactly what they wanted. You can see the full hour plus long video of the meeting here.
Andy Stevens of Grass Roots North Carolina spoke. Just as importantly so did Mark Robinson. What the latter had to say has gone viral. You can see both of their comments below.
Mr. Robinson’s comments begin at about the 4:40 mark. His comments have been aired on Fox News, Facebook, and the list goes on. The number of views from various sources now totals in the millions.
Share this video with your friends. Everyone needs to see it.
UPDATE:A.P. Dillon at LadyLiberty1885 blog has more on the Greensboro City Council meeting including video of a couple of the March for Our Lives kids. Dillon notes that they repeated many false claims.
There is a movement among some politicians to reduce the voting age from 18 to 16. Some municipalities have actually done this. I even read an editorial from a University of Kentucky law professor stating that students from Parkland High School show why this is a good idea. It doesn’t matter that this students are being scripted, used as props, and are coached what to say.
In a free society, I think having immature, easily swayed young minds pull the voting lever is a recipe for disaster. As Michael Bane said the other day, think Lord of the Flies.
Yet these same politicians and pundits want to raise the age at which one can purchase any long arm to 21 years old.
Since the Parkland High School shootings, you have heard all manner of politicians from the president on down saying that we need to raise the age to buy a semi-automatic rifle to age 21. They along with the media have painted a picture that wants you to believe one thing when the reality is totally different.
I was 18 when I purchased my first firearm. It was a Ruger 10/22 similar to the one shown in the meme. I paid $55 for it at a long ago closed discount store called Best Products. I used my savings from mowing lawns and my job as a school bus driver.
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