This week, after months of “unprecedented and unjustified” political attacks on both the firearm industry and the Second Amendment rights of all Americans, Smith & Wesson President and CEO Mark Smith had enough. Smith issued a scathing defense on behalf of his industry and law-abiding American gun owners.
A number of politicians and their lobbying partners in the media have recently sought to disparage Smith & Wesson. Some have had the audacity to suggest that after they have vilified, undermined and defunded law enforcement for years, supported prosecutors who refuse to hold criminals accountable for their actions, overseen the decay of our country’s mental health infrastructure, and generally promoted a culture of lawlessness, Smith & Wesson and other firearm manufacturers are somehow responsible for the crime wave that has predictably resulted from these destructive policies. But they are the ones to blame for the surge in violence and lawlessness, and they seek to avoid any responsibility for the crisis of violence they have created by attempting to shift the blame to Smith & Wesson, other firearm manufacturers and law-abiding gun owners.
Amen, Mark Smith. It’s about damn time someone called out the leftist politicians and activists on their destructive cop-hating and crime-loving behavior and policies. The left loves to shift the blame, and it’s up to us not to let them get away with it. It was the left that repeatedly pushed to “defund the police” and encouraged the release of career criminals onto our streets. It was also the left that backed soft-on-crime District Attorneys and SJW activists who turned our courts into a revolving door of unchecked recidivism while innocent Americans paid the ultimate price.
Related: SCOTUS Gun Ruling Brings Out the Clowns of New York. Kathy Hochul Hardest Hit.
It is no surprise that the cities suffering most from violent crime are the very same cities that have promoted irresponsible, soft-on-crime policies that often treat criminals as victims and victims as criminals. Many of these same cities also maintain the strictest gun laws in the nation. But rather than confront the failure of their policies, certain politicians have sought more laws restricting the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, while simultaneously continuing to undermine our institutions of law and order. And to suppress the truth, some now seek to prohibit firearm manufacturers and supporters of the 2nd Amendment from advertising products in a manner designed to remind law-abiding citizens that they have a Constitutional right to bear arms in defense of themselves and their families.
He’s not wrong. Every day, the nation’s headlines are filled with out-of-control crime stories and repeat offender stories from dangerous, crime-friendly, Democratic-run cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and New York, just to cite a few recent examples.
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.
It’s amazing this even needed to be said, but it did. Imagine if the left was as hysterical about curbing car accidents as they are about curbing our Second Amendment rights. They’d be yammering to stop car manufacturers from advertising with all those snazzy high-speed or “do not try this at home” offroad performance advertisements.
Related: [WATCH] One American Gun Manufacturer Is Fighting Back Against the Left’s Wrath
Clearly, speeding and offroading, in both legally owned and stolen vehicles, leads to tens of thousands of Americans’ deaths each year. So why isn’t the left cracking down on the car manufacturing industry like they are the firearm industry? Could it be that it’s not really our safety the left is so concerned about? The truth is, it’s not about our safety with cars and it’s never been about our safety with guns; it’s about controlling us and infringing upon our constitutional rights.
We are proud of our 170-year history. We are proud of the commitment of our employees to making a quality product. We are proud to provide law-abiding citizens and law enforcement – our customers – with the tools to provide for their security and independence. We are proud of our responsible business practices.
We will continue to work alongside law enforcement, community leaders and lawmakers who are genuinely interested in creating safe neighborhoods. We will engage those who genuinely seek productive discussions, not a means of scoring political points. We will continue informing law-abiding citizens that they have a Constitutionally-protected right to defend themselves and their families. We will never back down in our defense of the 2nd Amendment.
If you listened only to the gun-grabbing left, you’d never know the facts or true history of Smith & Wesson and the massive efforts the company makes “to reduce gun violence, prevent suicides, and educate the public on safe-storage practices to prevent unauthorized access.” The gun manufacturer also works “hand-in-glove with…industry partners, the ATF, and law enforcement at the local, state, and federal levels” to deliver “real solutions in the fight to prohibit access to firearms to criminals and the mentally unstable, provide tools and information that facilitate law enforcement’s ability to apprehend and hold criminals accountable, and educate the public in the safe, lawful use of firearms.” Details about this and more can be found here.
We’re proud of you, too, Smith & Wesson, and all those like Mark Smith who stand up and fight for Americans’ rights and never, ever bend the knee to the leftist woke mob.
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