Analysis Of The Brady Campaign’s Strategy Concerning The Private Sector And Guns

BY Herschel Smith
5 years, 10 months ago

We’ve been addressing the issue of a new front in the war on guns, specifically as it relates both to gun manufacturers being squeezed by banks and shareholder actions concerning gun companies.  It’s tempting to see this as a spurious set of events.  The anti-gun lobby sees something that happens to garner attention, and decides to do it again to see if it garners the same attention or effect.

It’s not spurious.  This is all part of a coordinated strategy within the gun controller community.  The Brady Campaign lays it out for us.

As companies have taken positions on climate change, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, family leave, and other socially responsible causes, it has helped to both place these issues in the forefront of the media and pressure other public and private industry members to adopt the same policies. In recent months, corporate attention has turned to America’s gun violence problem as a recognized public health epidemic that kills 96 Americans and injures another 200 or more each day.

[ … ]

An increasing amount of business leaders, investors, and corporate board members are not only cognizant of the toll of gun violence, but are also determined to lead by example. Dick’s Sporting Goods, Citigroup, Bank of America, Kroger’s, and L.L. Bean, among others, have announced policies that address this uniquely American problem.

Here we see corporations not as products of hard work, innovation, or even skilled workers who need to earn a living by the sweat of their brow.  Corporations are tools and agents of social change, regardless of what it does to the company itself or the value built by hard work over time.  Companies approached by the gun controllers should heed this warning.  The Brady Campaign has told you in no uncertain terms that they don’t care about the health of your company – the only value you add is your assets to be used for the purposes outlined by the controllers.

Aurora. Sandy Hook. San Bernardino. Pulse. Sutherland Springs. Las Vegas. Parkland. For how different these mass shootings were, they all have one thing in common: the shooters chose assault weapons. Shooters are purposefully outfitting themselves with the latest and best military-grade weapons and accessories …

Of course, this was all written prior to the recent shooting in Texas where the shooter used a shotgun and wheel gun, but that won’t change a thing concerning their strategy.  After mentioning Dick’s Sporting Goods, The Brady Campaign outlines some of their recent successes.

Walmart, another major gun retailer, ended its sale of assault rifles in mid-2015, citing low customer demand for weapons of this nature at their stores. Likewise, REI has suspended orders of certain products where the manufacturer is affiliated with a company making assault rifles.

And it’s not just retailers that are making significant changes to their policies on assault weapons. In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting. Bank of America announced it had engaged in “intense conversations” with gun manufacturers, and determined it would cease lending to any companies that make assault weapons for civilian purposes. Additionally, payment processing companies facilitating transactions like PayPal, Square, Stripe, and Apple Pay have all pledged to disallow their services for any firearm sales.

They also mention Blackrock, Citigroup, Fred Meyer, LL Bean, Kroger and other stores who have implemented what they call “gun reform” policies concerning who they do business with.

They go on to outline their proposals for “gun reform,” including [a] a renewed assault weapons ban, [b] an increase in the legal age for purchasing guns, [c] universal background checks, [d] “securing the supply chain,” and [e] advocating publicity for legal “reform.”

They don’t stop there.  They advocate the power of shareholder participation in corporations as well as legal pressure to force gun manufacturers and FFLs to conduct reporting on their political lobbying, their investments in so-called “smart gun technology,” and amusingly, this: “Report on their factual basis for advertisements that suggest guns are effective for personal protection compared to risks associated with gun ownership.”

If it’s easy to see the recent actions by Sturm & Ruger shareholders and Bank of America as spurious, it’s also easy to be dismissive about these efforts.  But make no mistake, these efforts are well funded, and moreover, the controllers have a nexus in the leadership of corporations.  Much of the upper level management, as well as HR and legal departments, has been steeped in collectivist ideology for their entire educational career.  Their world and life view are similar, if not the same.

It’s also easy to respond that “we can buy stock too,” as well as to claim that we or gun manufacturers can function in a bank-less society.  As to those claims, concerning buying stock too, it’s one thing to make boasts, and another to spend the money.  As to the ability to function in a bank-less society, it isn’t readily apparent what form this would take or how it would work.

If more odious gun laws are a direct frontal assault on God-given rights to firearms ownership, this whole effort is a well-coordinated, well-rehearsed, determined and organized enfilade assault.  This is a flaking maneuver, and it’s not apparent that gun owners or even gun manufacturers see this assault or are prepared to defend against it.

Sun Tzu recommended that in war, we “know our enemies.”  Listening to them when they divulge their strategy is certainly part of this.

Prior:

Remington Exits Bankruptcy

Response From Ruger CEO

Henry Repeating Arms On Dick’s Sporting Goods

Analysis Of Ruger Shareholder Vote

The Next Installment Of The War Between Amalgamated Bank And Ruger

Amalgamated Bank Pressures Ruger To Support Gun Control Measures

Please, Please Buy This Gun Company

Bank Of America Simply Hasn’t Shown Enough Contrition For The Gun Controllers Yet

Mossberg And MKS Break Ties With Dick’s Sporting Goods

It’s A Multi-Front Banker War On Gun Owners

Trackbacks & Pingbacks


Comments

  1. On May 21, 2018 at 10:51 am, Gryphon said:

    Captain – Something that I Haven’t (yet) read anyone pointing out – First, the (((bolsheviks))) in the False-Corporate ‘government’ know, on an Instinctive Level (like all Vermin does) that if they Lose Control, even slightly, of those who they try to Parasite off of, they will be Crushed. This is at the Root of All Efforts to Remove the Means of Self-Defense from the People.

    Second, the ‘government’ has been Failing (or at least, falling behind schedule) to accomplish this Goal, the Corporations, particularly the (((banks))) are beginning to feel Fear, as (((they))) are being Revealed as parasites, too. This, I believe, is what caused the sudden “Corporate” concern for Disarmament – the (((banks))) that Own the .gov and ‘elected’ officers Know that they’re Next, should .gov Lose Power and Legitimacy over the People.

    Remember, the “UNITED STATES CORPORATION” is Twenty Trillion (((dollars))) in Debt to the (((banks))). The Debtor is the Slave to the Lender, always, and this is at the Root of why we see ‘elected officials’ acting NOT in the Interests of the People and the Nation. They Can’t, they are OWNED.

    I really rather Expect that corporations (meaning banks) will exert a Lot more Leverage against Gun Owners than most People will Expect – control of “Credit” will be the Means they Use. Want to ‘borrow money’ (Pay Usury) for a House, Car, etc? (((they))) will make you Forfeit your Rights to own Guns, and it will be “legal” since You Signed a CONTRACT agreeing to this.

    All the more reason to get Off (((their))) Grid.

  2. On May 21, 2018 at 10:54 am, BRVTVS said:

    Another example (thanks to Codrea): https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-gun-boycott-lockton/insurer-lockton-will-no-longer-sell-nra-endorsed-policies-idUSKCN1GB06O

  3. On May 21, 2018 at 10:55 am, Herschel Smith said:

    @Gryphon,

    “I really rather Expect that corporations (meaning banks) will exert a Lot more Leverage against Gun Owners than most People will Expect …”

    In all sorts of way, not the least of which is a concerted effort against gun makers.

    I suspect they will be able to do what law-makers cannot.

  4. On May 21, 2018 at 11:27 am, moe mensale said:

    “If more odious gun laws are a direct frontal assault on God-given rights to firearms ownership, this whole effort is a well-coordinated, well-rehearsed, determined and organized enfilade assault. This is a flaking maneuver, and it’s not apparent that gun owners or even gun manufacturers see this assault or are prepared to defend against it.”

    @Herschel,

    Somehow I find it improbable that the gun manufacturers and the NSSF, with their high powered lawyers, don’t see this as a violation of our restraint of trade laws under 15 USC Chapter 1.

  5. On May 21, 2018 at 3:53 pm, Mack said:

    From now on, I refer to the enemy as Totalitarians.

    That’s what they are.

    Not liberals or Progressives, even.

  6. On May 25, 2018 at 5:12 am, Joshua Smith said:

    Here we see corporations not as products of hard work, innovation, or even skilled workers who need to earn a living by the sweat of their brow. Corporations are tools and agents of social change, regardless of what it does to the company itself or the value built by hard work over time. Companies approached by the gun controllers should heed this warning. The Brady Campaign has told you in no uncertain terms that they don’t care about the health of your company – the only value you add is your assets to be used for the purposes outlined by the controllers.

    Emphasis mine. Succinct truth cuts deep.

    Classic Herschel.

  7. On May 31, 2018 at 1:27 pm, Sean said:

    All these maneuverings by the left will probably not get them EVERYTHING they want, but enough to cripple the gun culture, and that includes manufacturers. Because the left has a propensity for bully violence when and where ever the think they can get away with it, they will escalate that violence, both tipping their hand, and over reaching as leftists always do. Think of them as a kind of vulture of opportunity. Their intended meal/feast is not quite dead yet, but vultures have been know to start picking at live animals they believed couldn’t stop them from it. They always victimize the weak, old, and helpless. When you see the ugly-ass vultures on the ground all around you, you know who is on the menu. And the left most importantly uses fear as a weapon to freeze most of the population, and keep them from taking any action.

  8. On June 1, 2018 at 10:14 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:

    @ Herschel

    Re: “Here we see corporations not as products of hard work, innovation, or even skilled workers who need to earn a living by the sweat of their brow. Corporations are tools and agents of social change, regardless of what it does to the company itself or the value built by hard work over time.”

    The dominant political and social ideology in today’s western world is Cultural Marxism, and one of the core tenets of Marxist-Leninism and communism is that the state and the party hold an absolute monopoly on the use of force.

    The most-powerful communist tyrants of the 20th century, men like Josef Stalin and Mao Zedong, affirmed this core belief in their statements at various times, including:

    “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” – Mao Zedong

    “Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?” – Josef Stalin

    Re: “Companies approached by the gun controllers should heed this warning. The Brady Campaign has told you in no uncertain terms that they don’t care about the health of your company – the only value you add is your assets to be used for the purposes outlined by the controllers.”

    The Brady Campaign ought to be considered as an arm of the deep-state, and not simply as an independent non-profit organization – for it functions as an appendage of the deep-state and powers-that-be. We see again the centrality of the state and party to the ideology of our adversaries, the notion that human beings and the things that they create exist for no valid purpose apart from what they offer to the state/party apparatus.

    In this, the communists are not all that different from the fascists. Benito Mussolini, the founder of modern (20th-century) fascism, said:

    “All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state”

    “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power”

    Some historians and scholars believe that fascism died with the end of the Second World War, but if we apply Mussolini’s definition to the public-private leviathan in this country, we find that it fits very closely. In particular, the obliteration of the line between the public and private sectors.

    It is germane to note that one of the biggest historical lies of the latter half of the twentieth century was the notion that communism and fascism were polar opposites, ideologies which lay at opposite ends of the political spectrum. This is a lie of the highest order, one masterfully debunked by Dinesh D’Souza in his new book, “The Big Lie.”

    After the Second World War ended, and as the Cold War ramped up, the very last thing communist sympathizers in the West wanted was for people to make the connection between communism and fascism as ideological neighbors. Thus began a half-century long effort to purge or marginalize the historical record of any evidence which pointed to this conclusion.

    All of the top fascists viewed fascism as the ultimate evolution or iteration of communism, of Marxist-Leninism.

    If one plots political ideologies on a gradient or line, with complete collectivism and government control on the left-most extreme, and the complete absence of it on the right-most extreme, one finds that classical fascism, Nazism (national socialism), and communism are closely-related ideologically and are, in fact, neighbors on the far-left of the political spectrum.

    To repeat – fascism is a form of leftist collectivism; it is not a phenomenon of the political right.

    All forms of collectivist tyranny are evil and must opposed, whether termed communism, fascism, Nazism, Cultural Marxism, or Islam.

    The Left should not be taken lightly, especially since they have joined forces in the so-called “Red-Green alliance” – the Reds being the communists and Cultural Marxists, the Greens being the Muslims. Between the two of them, these ideologies have a great deal of innocent blood on their hands.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment


You are currently reading "Analysis Of The Brady Campaign’s Strategy Concerning The Private Sector And Guns", entry #19262 on The Captain's Journal.

This article is filed under the category(s) Featured,Gun Control and was published May 20th, 2018 by Herschel Smith.

If you're interested in what else the The Captain's Journal has to say, you might try thumbing through the archives and visiting the main index, or; perhaps you would like to learn more about TCJ.

26th MEU (10)
Abu Muqawama (12)
ACOG (2)
ACOGs (1)
Afghan National Army (36)
Afghan National Police (17)
Afghanistan (704)
Afghanistan SOFA (4)
Agriculture in COIN (3)
AGW (1)
Air Force (40)
Air Power (10)
al Qaeda (83)
Ali al-Sistani (1)
America (22)
Ammunition (275)
Animals (280)
Ansar al Sunna (15)
Anthropology (3)
Antonin Scalia (1)
AR-15s (372)
Arghandab River Valley (1)
Arlington Cemetery (2)
Army (86)
Assassinations (2)
Assault Weapon Ban (28)
Australian Army (7)
Azerbaijan (4)
Backpacking (2)
Badr Organization (8)
Baitullah Mehsud (21)
Basra (17)
BATFE (217)
Battle of Bari Alai (2)
Battle of Wanat (18)
Battle Space Weight (3)
Bin Laden (7)
Blogroll (3)
Blogs (24)
Body Armor (23)
Books (3)
Border War (18)
Brady Campaign (1)
Britain (38)
British Army (35)
Camping (5)
Canada (17)
Castle Doctrine (1)
Caucasus (6)
CENTCOM (7)
Center For a New American Security (8)
Charity (3)
China (16)
Christmas (16)
CIA (30)
Civilian National Security Force (3)
Col. Gian Gentile (9)
Combat Outposts (3)
Combat Video (2)
Concerned Citizens (6)
Constabulary Actions (3)
Coolness Factor (3)
COP Keating (4)
Corruption in COIN (4)
Council on Foreign Relations (1)
Counterinsurgency (218)
DADT (2)
David Rohde (1)
Defense Contractors (2)
Department of Defense (210)
Department of Homeland Security (26)
Disaster Preparedness (5)
Distributed Operations (5)
Dogs (15)
Donald Trump (27)
Drone Campaign (4)
EFV (3)
Egypt (12)
El Salvador (1)
Embassy Security (1)
Enemy Spotters (1)
Expeditionary Warfare (17)
F-22 (2)
F-35 (1)
Fallujah (17)
Far East (3)
Fathers and Sons (2)
Favorite (1)
Fazlullah (3)
FBI (39)
Featured (189)
Federal Firearms Laws (18)
Financing the Taliban (2)
Firearms (1,758)
Football (1)
Force Projection (35)
Force Protection (4)
Force Transformation (1)
Foreign Policy (27)
Fukushima Reactor Accident (6)
Ganjgal (1)
Garmsir (1)
general (15)
General Amos (1)
General James Mattis (1)
General McChrystal (44)
General McKiernan (6)
General Rodriguez (3)
General Suleimani (9)
Georgia (19)
GITMO (2)
Google (1)
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (1)
Gun Control (1,630)
Guns (2,298)
Guns In National Parks (3)
Haditha Roundup (10)
Haiti (2)
HAMAS (7)
Haqqani Network (9)
Hate Mail (8)
Hekmatyar (1)
Heroism (4)
Hezbollah (12)
High Capacity Magazines (16)
High Value Targets (9)
Homecoming (1)
Homeland Security (3)
Horses (2)
Humor (72)
Hunting (31)
ICOS (1)
IEDs (7)
Immigration (104)
India (10)
Infantry (4)
Information Warfare (4)
Infrastructure (4)
Intelligence (23)
Intelligence Bulletin (6)
Iran (171)
Iraq (379)
Iraq SOFA (23)
Islamic Facism (64)
Islamists (98)
Israel (19)
Jaish al Mahdi (21)
Jalalabad (1)
Japan (3)
Jihadists (81)
John Nagl (5)
Joint Intelligence Centers (1)
JRTN (1)
Kabul (1)
Kajaki Dam (1)
Kamdesh (9)
Kandahar (12)
Karachi (7)
Kashmir (2)
Khost Province (1)
Khyber (11)
Knife Blogging (7)
Korea (4)
Korengal Valley (3)
Kunar Province (20)
Kurdistan (3)
Language in COIN (5)
Language in Statecraft (1)
Language Interpreters (2)
Lashkar-e-Taiba (2)
Law Enforcement (6)
Lawfare (14)
Leadership (6)
Lebanon (6)
Leon Panetta (2)
Let Them Fight (2)
Libya (14)
Lines of Effort (3)
Littoral Combat (8)
Logistics (50)
Long Guns (1)
Lt. Col. Allen West (2)
Marine Corps (280)
Marines in Bakwa (1)
Marines in Helmand (67)
Marjah (4)
MEDEVAC (2)
Media (67)
Medical (146)
Memorial Day (6)
Mexican Cartels (41)
Mexico (61)
Michael Yon (6)
Micromanaging the Military (7)
Middle East (1)
Military Blogging (26)
Military Contractors (5)
Military Equipment (25)
Militia (9)
Mitt Romney (3)
Monetary Policy (1)
Moqtada al Sadr (2)
Mosul (4)
Mountains (25)
MRAPs (1)
Mullah Baradar (1)
Mullah Fazlullah (1)
Mullah Omar (3)
Musa Qala (4)
Music (25)
Muslim Brotherhood (6)
Nation Building (2)
National Internet IDs (1)
National Rifle Association (95)
NATO (15)
Navy (30)
Navy Corpsman (1)
NCOs (3)
News (1)
NGOs (3)
Nicholas Schmidle (2)
Now Zad (19)
NSA (3)
NSA James L. Jones (6)
Nuclear (62)
Nuristan (8)
Obama Administration (221)
Offshore Balancing (1)
Operation Alljah (7)
Operation Khanjar (14)
Ossetia (7)
Pakistan (165)
Paktya Province (1)
Palestine (5)
Patriotism (7)
Patrolling (1)
Pech River Valley (11)
Personal (72)
Petraeus (14)
Pictures (1)
Piracy (13)
Pistol (4)
Pizzagate (21)
Police (647)
Police in COIN (3)
Policy (15)
Politics (969)
Poppy (2)
PPEs (1)
Prisons in Counterinsurgency (12)
Project Gunrunner (20)
PRTs (1)
Qatar (1)
Quadrennial Defense Review (2)
Quds Force (13)
Quetta Shura (1)
RAND (3)
Recommended Reading (14)
Refueling Tanker (1)
Religion (491)
Religion and Insurgency (19)
Reuters (1)
Rick Perry (4)
Rifles (1)
Roads (4)
Rolling Stone (1)
Ron Paul (1)
ROTC (1)
Rules of Engagement (75)
Rumsfeld (1)
Russia (37)
Sabbatical (1)
Sangin (1)
Saqlawiyah (1)
Satellite Patrols (2)
Saudi Arabia (4)
Scenes from Iraq (1)
Second Amendment (667)
Second Amendment Quick Hits (2)
Secretary Gates (9)
Sharia Law (3)
Shura Ittehad-ul-Mujahiden (1)
SIIC (2)
Sirajuddin Haqqani (1)
Small Wars (72)
Snipers (9)
Sniveling Lackeys (2)
Soft Power (4)
Somalia (8)
Sons of Afghanistan (1)
Sons of Iraq (2)
Special Forces (28)
Squad Rushes (1)
State Department (23)
Statistics (1)
Sunni Insurgency (10)
Support to Infantry Ratio (1)
Supreme Court (52)
Survival (185)
SWAT Raids (57)
Syria (38)
Tactical Drills (38)
Tactical Gear (14)
Taliban (168)
Taliban Massing of Forces (4)
Tarmiyah (1)
TBI (1)
Technology (21)
Tehrik-i-Taliban (78)
Terrain in Combat (1)
Terrorism (96)
Thanksgiving (13)
The Anbar Narrative (23)
The Art of War (5)
The Fallen (1)
The Long War (20)
The Surge (3)
The Wounded (13)
Thomas Barnett (1)
Transnational Insurgencies (5)
Tribes (5)
TSA (24)
TSA Ineptitude (13)
TTPs (4)
U.S. Border Patrol (6)
U.S. Border Security (18)
U.S. Sovereignty (23)
UAVs (2)
UBL (4)
Ukraine (10)
Uncategorized (98)
Universal Background Check (3)
Unrestricted Warfare (4)
USS Iwo Jima (2)
USS San Antonio (1)
Uzbekistan (1)
V-22 Osprey (4)
Veterans (3)
Vietnam (1)
War & Warfare (412)
War & Warfare (41)
War Movies (4)
War Reporting (21)
Wardak Province (1)
Warriors (6)
Waziristan (1)
Weapons and Tactics (79)
West Point (1)
Winter Operations (1)
Women in Combat (21)
WTF? (1)
Yemen (1)

March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006

about · archives · contact · register

Copyright © 2006-2024 Captain's Journal. All rights reserved.