Washington Whispers About Gun Control and the Industry Prepares
Jim Shepherd
from The Fishing Wire
If the whispers in the hallways of Congress are any indication, the Obama administration is gearing up for as many as a dozen regulations which, although described as public safety issues are really gun restrictions. Their titling’s based on the tried-and true political strategy of calling something potentially distasteful a “safety” issue when in fact it’s something else entirely.
Measures being considered include new restrictions on the purchase and/or possession of “high-powered pistols”. The mainstream hasn’t bothered to ask what constitutes a “high-powered pistol” because the measures are being championed by “gun safety advocates” like Everytown for Gun Safety -the organization that is financially supported and largely run by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
So is President Obama prepping for his final push against gun owners and Second Amendment rights? If what my Washington insiders tell me is accurate, the administration isn’t considering the plan; they’re implementing it.
First, a series of dubious “public safety” measures will be introduced into Congress – where they will likely be defeated. The administration will then demonize the “gun lobby” and accuse the politicians receiving their financial support of standing in the way of public safety.
If that trial balloon flies, President Obama will begin to issue a sweeping series of Executive Orders including the aforementioned restriction on “high-powered pistols” and requiring mandatory liability insurance for everyone who owns a firearm. They’ll all be made in the name of “the greater public good.”
House Democrat Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) has apparently already fired the first shot of this latest gambit with her “The Firearm Risk Protection Act” mandating that liability insurance be proven before being allowed to purchase a gun. A $10,000 fine would be the penalty for not having insurance. She says it’s “only reasonable” as car insurance is mandated and “guns are far more dangerous.”
Ruger President Chris Killoy (left) Jim Shepherd (center) and CEO Mike Fifer (right)
As normal, both the gun industry and gun owners are the bad guys – and the National Rifle Association the worst of our lot. That isn’t a situation any of us find unfamiliar.
Before the last presidential election, Ruger CEO Michael Fifer was listening to remarks by the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox detailing the work of the NRA-ILA , the organization’s lobbying and political action arm.
At that point, Fifer realized all that work in Washington was done with money outside membership dues. Under federal law, dues can’t be used for lobbying. That’s the reason behind the NRA-ILA ‘s establishment in 1975.
“I realized we all needed to do more,” he told me, “and Ruger needed to come up with a way to help. So we took a big leap of faith with the Ruger 1 Million Gun Challenge.” Under the Challenge, Ruger would give the NRA’s political efforts a dollar for every gun during the one-year Challenge period.
Ultimately that “leap of faith” raised $1,273,000.
Last night, Fifer talked with me about Ruger’s latest –and significantly larger – “leap of faith”: The Ruger 2 Million Gun Challenge (you can read the details in today’s Top Story Exclusive).
Yep, Ruger’s doubled the potential number of guns in the challenge, but that’s not all. They’re also doubling the contribution of each unit, that’s $2/per unit or a potential of $4 million for the NRA’s efforts based on Ruger sales between the 2015 NRA Annual Meetings and next year’s annual gathering in Louisville, Kentucky.
“It’s pretty aggressive,” Fifer admitted, “but I’m hoping that we can energize consumers to support the NRA and the NRA-ILA efforts. It’s already energized us internally.”
Ruger will be launching a web micro-site and other resources in support of the Ruger 2 Million Gun Challenge, and as always, we’ll keep you posted.