Ruger and Smith & Wesson give the middle finger to California
In 1976, the Brady Campaign, then known as the National Council to Control Handguns, officially stated that the first part of its three-part plan to get handguns and handgun ammunition made “totally illegal” was to “slow down the increasing number of handguns being produced and sold in this country.” Yeah, that was in print.
Fast forward to today where a wicked new California gun law that the gun grabbers say helps law enforcement has driven Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger out of California and affirmed the suspicions of firearms rights advocates that the measure is really about making handguns obsolete. Fist bump to S&W and Ruger.
In a bold and principal-driven move the two companies have announced they will stop producing firearms for the buyers in California rather than try to comply with a law that requires handguns to have technology that imprints a tiny stamp on the bullet so it can be traced back to the gun. The companies say so-called “microstamping” technology is unworkable in its present form and can actually impair a gun’s performance creating safety concerns in critical situations.
“Smith & Wesson does not and will not include microstamping in its firearms,” the Springfield, Mass.,-based manufacturer said in a statement. “A number of studies have indicated that microstamping is unreliable, serves no safety purpose, is cost prohibitive and, most importantly, is not proven to aid in preventing or solving crimes.” Tell it like it is, S&W!
“The microstamping mandate and the company’s unwillingness to adopt this so-called technology will result in a diminishing number of Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistols available for purchase by California residents.”
I know what you’re thinking: That’s California; I’ll never live there and probably never go there.” Think again. Anti-gun activists have historically treated California as the testing ground for gun control laws they would like to have imposed throughout the country. So it’s extremely important that all 2nd Amendment supporters outside the RepubliK of California prepare for “microstamping” efforts in their own states. This means that more focus and questions should be asked of our local and state candidates for all elected offices since these are state, not federal laws. Ask them their thoughts on gun control and be specific. Ask them directly about microstamping. If you don’t get the answer you want then vote them out and/or vote against them!