Might I Make A Suggestion

If you have been following Facebook, Twitter, or the news today, you know that Walmart’s CEO just announced changes in their firearms policy. They will no longer carry handgun ammo. Also included in the change was “short-barrel rifle ammunition”. Finally, they will be stopping handgun sales in Alaska.

From Walmart CEO Doug McMillon’s memo:

Today, we’re sharing the decisions we’ve made that go further: After selling through our current inventory commitments, we will discontinue sales of short-barrel rifle ammunition such as the .223 caliber and 5.56 caliber that, while commonly used in some hunting rifles, can also be used in large capacity clips on military-style weapons; We will sell through and discontinue handgun ammunition; and We will discontinue handgun sales in Alaska, marking our complete exit from handguns.

Walmart currently has a 20% market share of the civilian ammunition market. McMillon wants to get it down to between 6% and 9%.

If McMillon had stopped there or just made the change without a big announcement, it would have been one thing. However, McMillon decided to go “full corporate virtue signaling”.

Finally, we encourage our nation’s leaders to move forward and strengthen background checks and to remove weapons from those who have been determined to pose an imminent danger. We do not sell military-style rifles, and we believe the reauthorization of the Assault Weapons ban should be debated to determine its effectiveness. We must also do more, as a country, to understand the root causes that lead to this type of violent behavior. Today, I’m sending letters to the White House and the Congressional leadership that call for action on these common sense measures. As we’ve seen before, these horrific events occur and then the spotlight fades. We should not allow that to happen. Congress and the administration should act. Given our decades of experience selling firearms, we are also offering to serve as a resource in the national debate on responsible gun sales.

McMillon then alludes to the late Sam Walton and his love for hunting in an appeal to the Fudds. McMillon then says his family raised bird dogs when he was growing up and, of course, the obligatory “I’m a gun owner myself .”

Doug McMillon can protest all he wants but he is just another Ed Stack. He wants to hang out with what he perceives to be the cool kids (who really aren’t that cool).

I am an affiliate of Lucky Gunner. They carry good handgun ammo. They carry good 5.56×45 and .223 ammo. They have good prices. They provide research on handgun ammo penetration. Most importantly, they stood up when it counted after being sued by the Brady Campaign. They won and dedicated a good part of their winnings to backing Second Amendment organizations.

Look at the bottom of my blog on the left side. There is a link to Luckygunner.com. If you buy through that link, I earn a commission. Making the move to WordPress and a dedicated domain was not free. Commissions earned will go to support the costs of this blog. Commissions over and above the blog costs are donated to Second Amendment organizations.

Why Do I Suspect A Disinformation Campaign?

Brady Campaign employees Lonnie and Sandy Phillips have been making the rounds of the liberal media proclaiming that they face bankruptcy. This comes as a result of the dismissal of their Brady Center-sponsored lawsuit against LuckyGunner.com, Sportsman’s Guide, and others. US District Court Judge Richard Matsch awarded attorneys’ fees to the defendants when he dismissed the lawsuit.

As I showed back in April, both Lonnie and Sandy are employees of the Brady Campaign. Lonnie still is listed as a Operations Manager for them on LinkedIn. Sandy, as I said, works for them as a Campaign Manager.

While I can feel sympathy for them for the loss of their daughter Jessica Ghawi, I have no sympathy for them over this. Frankly, while I have no proof, I do have a very strong sneaking suspicion that the Brady Center/Brady Campaign will be the ones actually footing the bill.

If the Phillips are actually going to seek the protection of the Bankruptcy Court, it is only because they want to screw the defendants out of the money that is legally owed to them. I think the fact that Lucky Gunner is planning to donate their portion of the money to Second Amendment groups has got to stick in the craw of both the Phillips and the Brady Center.

These TV appearances are an overt attempt to win in the court of public opinion because they have lost, and will continue to lose, in the court system. They acknowledge that they now are seeking Federal legislation that would essentially put Lucky Gunner out of business.

That MSNBC and others have provided the Phillips with a sympathetic ear comes as no surprise to me. They hate gun owners and they hate the Second Amendment. The hell with journalistic ethics when it comes to us. The employment status of the Phillips should have been disclosed as it is an important component of the full story.

UPDATE: Thanks to Linoge, we have a poster that puts it into perspective.

Used with permission

Well, This Sheds A New Light On Things

At the end of March, US District Judge Richard Matsch dismissed the lawsuit brought by the Brady Center on behalf of Lonnie and Sandy Phillips who had lost a daughter in the Aurora theater shootings. Judge Matsch also awarded attorneys’ fees to the defendants in the case including Lucky Gunner and Sportsman’s Guide.

A story at Guns.com looking at the court filings by BulkAmmo.com aka Lucky Gunner and Sportsman’s Guide said the fees being requested totaled approximately $224,000. There has been much speculation on just who will have to pay these attorneys’ fees – the grieving family or the Brady Center. Sebastian at Shall Not Be Questioned said the Brady Center had reached a new low in exploiting victims especially if they left the family holding the bag for the fees.

We discussed this last night on The Polite Society Podcast. I think the consensus was that we felt for the family especially if they were the ones who had to pay the fees on top of the loss of their daughter Jessica Ghawi.

Thanks to an observant reader, my sympathy for the Phillips has ratcheted down several levels. I, of course, will always feel sympathy for them over the loss of their daughter. It is something that no parent should have to go through. That said, take a look at the following screen captures.

The Phillips were not just grieving parents when they brought suit against Lucky Gunner, Sportsman’s Guide, and the other defendants. They were paid employees of the Brady Campaign!


You can find the link to Lonnie’s LinkedIn page here and the link to the Facebook page announcing Sandy’s appearance on Meet The Press here.

While the amended complaint did not seek outright monetary damages, it did ask for “equitable relief”, court costs, and “for such other and further relief that this Court might deem appropriate.” They also sought an injunction that would have put the defendants out of business until they adopted the Brady Center’s business practices. I do wonder if monetary damages had been awarded would they have gone to the Phillips or gone to their employer due to some pre-trial agreement.

H/T Josh

Brady Center Loses In Colorado

Jessica Ghawi was one of the victims of the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado. In September 2014, the Brady Center brought suit on behalf of her parents against Lucky Gunner LLC, Sportsman’s Guide, and two other vendors for “failing to screen the gunman and making it too easy for him to buy ammunition, tear gas and body armor.” The case was filed in Arapahoe County District Court. This case was part of the Brady Center’s so-called “bad apples” project.

The case was moved to US District Court for the District of Colorado in October 2014 under the diversity of citizenship doctrine. The plaintiffs were from Texas, the late daughter was a resident of Colorado, and the defendants were located in a variety of other states. The case was assigned to Senior Judge Richard Matsch.

Fast forward to late Friday afternoon. Judge Matsch ruled against the plaintiffs and awarded attorney fees to Lucky Gunner and Sportsman’s Guide.

Upon the foregoing, it is ORDERED that plaintiffs’ claims as to all defendants and
this civil action are dismissed. Pursuant to C.R.S. §13-21-504.5, defendants Lucky
Gunner and the Sportsman’s Guide are entitled to an award of reasonable attorney fees
and costs to be determined after filing motions pursuant to D.C.Colo.L.Civ.R.54.3 within
14 days after entry of judgment pursuant to this order.

I hope to have more on this decision after I’ve had time to read and digest the opinion. In the meantime, I wonder if the Brady Center will be the ones paying the attorney fees or are they going to stick the parents with the bill.

I should note for the record that I am an affiliate of Lucky Gunner and a customer of Sportsman’s Guide. Indeed, when I got home from work on Friday, I found a package from Sportman’s Guide which contained, among other things, ammo.