Remington Outdoor Gets A New CEO

Remington Outdoor Company announced that they had appointed Anthony Acitelli as their new CEO. Mr. Acitelli was formerly the CEO of Taurus Holdings. He replaces James “Marco” Marcotuli who stepped down at the end of August after little more than two years in the position.

From their press release:

Huntsville, AL – Remington Outdoor Company (“ROC”), one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and related products, today announced Remington’s Board of Directors has unanimously elected Anthony Acitelli Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and to the Board of Directors.

Mr. Acitelli is a respected industry veteran with twenty plus years of leadership experience. In addition to successfully leading sales and marketing organizations, Mr. Acitelli most recently served as CEO of Taurus Holdings. Mr. Acitelli holds a Master of Business Administration from Thunderbird Global School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of South Florida.

“Anthony’s experience as an industry insider with both customers and consumers will strengthen Remington’s presence in the market place.” said Jim Geisler, Executive Chairman of the Board. “As our industry continues to experience changes in demand and in consumers buying preferences, Remington will continue to innovate providing the best products and experiences to our customers. There can be no other way to build a good 2018 and beyond.”

Mr. Acitelli stated, “I am truly humbled and honored to become a part of America’s most iconic brands within the hunting and shooting industry. I look forward to the challenges ahead, while forging a course for the future with innovation and vision. We owe it to those that came before us and to those that will follow.”

I’m going to go out on a limb here. While Taurus may not be the most highly respected firearm company in the United States, it is a firearms company. I think it was past time for Remington to hire a CEO who actually had been in the firearms’ business as opposed to making cars or investment banking.

Now if Remington had really been thinking out of the box they would have mortgaged heaven and earth, got down on their knees, said their prayers, and begged Mike Fifer to come out of retirement. I’m not saying Fifer could have turned Remington around immediately but the man knows how to run a profitable gun company.

Stepping Up To The Plate In California

As I reported earlier this month, both Ruger and Smith & Wesson have taken a stand against the California Department of Justice Handgun Roster by letting numerous popular models of their handguns drop off the list. In other words, they refuse to make a California-only model that includes a microstamped firing pin.

Now Mike Fifer and James Debney, the CEOs of Ruger and Smith & Wesson respectively, have filed Declarations in support of the plaintiffs challenging the Handgun Roster in the long-running case of Pena v. Lindley. This is a case being brought by the CalGuns Foundation and the Second Amendment Foundation in US District Court for the Eastern District of California.

The Declaration of Ruger CEO Mike Fifer can be found here. In it he says that the microstamping requirement is unworkable and that no firearms manufacturer has been able to implement it.

The Declaration of S&W CEO James Debney says that the technology is unworkable and that “the state law requires the technology to perform at a level it cannot.” Debney goes on to point out that many of their handguns also do not have mag disconnects and loaded chamber indicators.

These Declarations join the amicus curie brief of Glock, Inc. in arguing against the Handgun Roster and in favor of the plaintiffs’ position.

The Second Amendment Foundation welcomed the support from all three firearms manufacturers in a release put out yesterday shown below.

SAF THANKS GUN COMPANIES FOR
SUPPORT IN CA MICROSTAMPING CASE

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation is expressing heartfelt gratitude today to three major firearms companies – Ruger, Smith & Wesson and Glock – for their supporting documents in the on-going case of Pena v. Lindley, a lawsuit challenging the California handgun roster requirements that include microstamping and magazine disconnects.

Earlier this week, Ruger CEO Michael O. Fifer and Smith & Wesson President and CEO James Debney submitted declarations to the court, explaining their respective companies’ positions on the California microstamping requirement. Late last year, attorneys representing Glock, Inc. filed an amicus curiae brief supporting the SAF case.

“SAF will be eternally grateful for the timely support from all three companies, which we believe strongly reinforces our case,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The statements from Messrs. Debney and Fifer confirm what we have argued all along, that California’s requirements place an undue burden on both consumers and manufacturers.”

In his statement, Fifer bluntly observed, “There is no workable microstamping technology today, and Ruger believes that California’s microstamping regulations make compliance impossible.”

Debney concurs in his statement, noting, “Smith & Wesson does not believe it is possible currently to comply with California’s microstamping regulations. Quite simply, the state law requires the technology to perform at a level that it cannot.”

In its earlier brief, submitted by attorneys Erik S. Jaffe of Washington, D.C. and John C. Eastman of Orange, Calif., Glock maintained that neither its pistols nor any other handgun in common use can comply with California’s microstamping mandate.

“You cannot regulate handguns out of existence or out of the marketplace by mandating technology that doesn’t work,” Gottlieb observed. “Now three major gun companies have weighed in and we’re confident their opinions will carry a lot of weight.”

The impact of the microstamping requirement on handguns available for sale in California can be seen in this infographic from the CalGuns Foundation.  It is not a pretty picture and not a Constitutional one in my opinion.

Ruger CEO Mike Fifer Clarifies Why They Are Leaving California Market

As I reported yesterday in the infographic on the California Handgun Roster, Ruger is reportedly going to let all their semi-automatic pistols drop off the approved Handgun Roster. Today, Ruger CEO Mike Fifer clarified this in an interview with Guns.com.

“We’re being forced out of the state by the California Department of Justice,” explained Fifer. “This insistence on microstamping, which doesn’t work, is denying you your rights to have access to these guns.”


“We’re not abandoning the [California] market at all, we are trying our hardest to stay in the market,” he continued. “We’re committed to California and we’re fighting this every inch of the way.”


In other words, they’re not abandoning their fans, enthusiasts and customers in California. They’re going to do whatever they can to see that this inane law gets struck down.

Mike Fifer, CEO of Ruger, Talks With Cam Edwards

Mike Fifer, CEO of Ruger, sat down and talked with Cam Edwards of NRA News. While part of the interview was devoted to the new Ruger SR22 and the Ruger American rifle, more interesting to me was Fifer’s discussion of the Million Gun Challenge and the political challenges we face. He is worried just like many of us about the composition of the Supreme Court after this election.