Gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson ripped politicians for demonizing guns and lawful gun owners to cover for failed policies that have led to surging crime rates.
Company president and CEO Mark Smith released a 440-word statement Monday castigating “politicians and their lobbying partners in the media.” Smith accused the cabal of using his company and other gun manufacturers as scapegoats for a “crisis of violence” that has rocked the United States.
“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,” Smith said. “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.”
“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,” he continued, noting that often those cities have strict gun control policies.
Leftist prosecutors in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia have overseen spikes of violent crime across the communities they are tasked with keeping orderly and safe. Philadelphia is particularly dangerous and at risk of setting a record for most homicides in a year, tracking closely with its previous record set just last year.
Philadelphia’s Soros-backed district attorney, Larry Krasner, is one of the most left-leaning prosecutors in the U.S. He has faced intense criticism over his city’s spate of violent crime, and has even been threatened by Republican state lawmakers with impeachment.
President Joe Biden has made gun control one of his main priorities. He has repeated his calls to ban certain semi-automatic rifles and “high-capacity” magazines after mass shooting events.
In June, Democrats held an event outside the Smith & Wesson headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts, calling for stricter gun control. The event was led by Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey (D) targeted the gun manufacturer explicitly.
“More and more mass shooters murder more and more Americans with these assault weapons in hand,” Markey said. “The AR-15 style assault weapons made right here at Smith and Wesson were used in mass shootings.”
Smith said blame directed at guns and gun-owners is misplaced. “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,” he wrote.
“Instead, Smith & Wesson provides these citizens with the means to protect themselves and their families,” he said. Smith ended his statement pledging to “never back down in our defense of the Second Amendment.”
Amid an unprecedented and unjustified attack on the firearm industry, Smith & Wesson President & CEO issues strong statement: pic.twitter.com/6NHztbGIe4
— Smith & Wesson Inc. (@Smith_WessonInc) August 15, 2022