From yesterday’s Wall Street Journal:
Gun-control advocates and firearms industry representatives said Jersey City is the first municipality in the nation to demand such information. Questions include how firms dispose of old weapons and comply with background-check laws, and whether they make semiautomatic rifles—often called assault weapons—for sale to civilians, according to bid documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The requirement went into effect earlier this year for gun and ammunition contracts worth at least $500,000 for Jersey City’s 800-member police force. The purpose: to try to change the firearms industry through the power of the city purse.
This is part of the efforts of the Bloomberg gun control organizations to attempt to strong-arm gun manufacturers and distributors into participating into their gun control schemes. I’d note that any manufacturer or distributor who goes along with Jersey City’s, or any other city’s requirements, will suffer the Smith & Wesson treatment. Smith & Wesson suffered under a massive boycott in the late 90s, early aughts, when their former British owners colluded with the Clinton Administration and Andrew Cuomo (then HUD director):
The two companies that are bidding for Jersey City business—Atlantic Tactical of Pennsylvania and Lawmen Supply Co. of Pennsauken, N.J.—are respected regional companies that sell to law enforcement but aren’t national household names.
Links to the businesses added by me. They look like Law Enforcement supply shops, so we may not have a whole lot of sway over their actions if they mostly don’t sell to civilians. I also don’t want to hang a company out to dry that truthfully answers “Why yes, we sell semi-automatic firearms to civilians if the fulfill the federal requirements and pass a background check, and yes, we do resell surplus police firearms under the same conditions. Here’s our bid, you can take it or leave it.” What we have to watch for are companies who agree to stop selling to civilians, or agree to destroy surplus firearms rather than resell them to civilians.
Some activists in New Jersey may want to familiarize themselves with New Jersey’s FOIA equivalent, if they have one, and start looking into what they are asking, and what answers are being provided. We have to make sure that cities who do this are punished, by no one wanting to do business with them.
Typo alert.
“What we have to watch for are companies who refuse to stop selling to civilians, or agree to destroy surplus firearms rather than resell them to civilians.”
I believe “refuse” should be “agree” in that sentence. Otherwise it’s not clear what you want folks to look out for.
Thanks for the catch. I changed how I wanted to do the sentence, but forgot to change the verb.
The industry can afford to tell the Jersey City PD to go pound dirt. I know of gun clubs with more members, and buying power, than that.
According to the article:
Anger 90% of your customers to please 10%? Sounds like a brilliant business strategy. I’m sure gun companies will be all over that.
There are, I believe, roughly 800,000 law enforcement officers in the U.S. Let’s round up to 1 million. If firearms for every single cop in America were purchased once per year, that would be significantly fewer guns than are sold per MONTH to “civilians” over the last five years. And they don’t purchase 1 gun per cop every year, so the number is much, much smaller.
****In December, the city put out a request for bids with six questions, but got no responses.****
Que Nelson Muntz ‘Ha Ha’
Atlantic tactical has a store at the north edge of philly, right near the prison complex. Anyone can walk in and make a purchase. The store has an awesome selection and good prices.
Then somebody should walk in and have a chat with them.
NJ’s FOIA equivalent is known as OPRA (Open Public Records Act).
Lawmen Supply does sell to the general public as well. A friend of mine bought his Glock 27 there.
I can see this being spun the wrong way by our side.
As Sebastian notes, the questions aren’t “bad” in and of themselves and companies are free to answer them or not, or bid or not.
In fact the companies could stick a thumb in the eye of Jersey City just by ignoring the obvious sub-text of the questions and answering them at face-value the opposite way.
“Heck *yes* we re-sell trade-ins to “civilians” pursuant to all applicable laws and regulations! Got any you’d like us to sell for you?! And yes we sell “assault rifles” too, how many do you want?!”
Mock the questions just by answering them as if any other interpretation is moronic.
There’s a second Atlantic Tactical in New Cumberland, PA, across the river from Harrisburg. Although they cater to LEO, anyone can walk in and purchase top end firearms and equipment at that location as well.
There’s also one out around Pittsburgh and another one in NYC. The staff in Harrisburg is much nicer than the one in Philly.
So Jersey City wants to know if their suppliers are “developing gun safety technologies?” I’ll bet that their suppliers want to know if Jersey City PD will be the first to adopt “gun safety technologies.”
Jay is spot on-
If law enforcement wanted to purchase and use new “gun safety technology” the manufacturers would produce it. Given the track record of law enforcement setting the tone for civilian firearm sales (think Glock), even if the technology made no sense, the law enforcement community plays a huge role in what sells to the market as a whole.
Since when are the police not civilians? Why does this continue to be difficult for people to understand?
From Websters: “a person who is not a member of the military or of a police or firefighting force”
I get what you’re trying to say, and I agree with you, but it’s nitpicking over language and over common usage of the word.