Posted 2/18/2013
Since New York State enacted its restrictive new gun laws, many manufacturers have sent that state (and others) a message: If local governments are going to severely restrict the ability of citizens to own guns, then these companies will not be selling to law enforcement in those areas.
Among the gun manufacturers sending that message:
- Olympic Arms, Inc
- La Rue Tactical
- EFI, LLC – Extreme Firepower
- York Arms
- Templar Custom
- Cheaper Than Dirt
Olympic Arms posted a press release on the company’s Facebook page earlier this week. Their intentions were quite clear.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
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 (to) 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.
EFI, LLC has a long-standing policy of not selling to law enforcement in states that restrict private gun ownership. TheBlaze interviewed EFI’s President Melinda Meador on the subject. Her statement was quite succinct:
“We refuse to recognize law enforcement exemptions on gun control. 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.”
The company’s policy supports a broad market strategy for sales. Meador reminded us that “law enforcement sales don’t make up a significant portion of the market.”
The York Arms website is one that did not mince words on the company’s policy as it relates to gun sales for New York.
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.
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.
Texas-based La Rue Tactical also posted their new policy on Facebook on February 8th:
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.
Templar Custom of North Carolina is a North Carolina-based maker of precision rifles. CEO Bob Reynolds spoke with TheBlaze on Friday and reinforced the company’s position as posted on Facebook.
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.
Online retailer Cheaper Than Dirt stepped up with a supportive statement on their Facebook page on Friday the 15th.
Recently, companies such as LaRue Tactical and Olympic Arms have announced that they will no longer sell prohibited items to government agencies and personnel in states that deny the right to own those items to civilians. 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.
In addition to these very public statements, gun-owner groups have been promoting these statements while also asking members and fans to contact three other manufacturers with significant sales to law enforcement in New York. One such group, Guns Save Lives, is actively asking people to write letters / emails to Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, and Glock and pressure them to stop selling to police in New York. Those three companies happen to be the trio of manufacturers recommended by the NYPD for use by their officers.
Calls and email inquires about any changes to their law enforcement sales policies have not been returned by Glock, Sig Sauer, and Smith & Wesson. If there is any additional information available, we will update this story.
(H/T: NC Gun Blog)