And So it Begins… Lexington and Concord
As Independence Day fast approaches, Americans are gearing up for a long weekend. Maybe some time off from work, a barbecue, some frosty cold beverages, fireworks, time well spent with family, and other red-blooded patriotic American festivities. We’re certain that many will also be celebrating the 239th anniversary of the adoption of The United States’ Declaration of Independence by exercising the right to keep and bear arms and burning up some gun powder at the shooting range. Perhaps a fitting observance, considering some of the events that ignited the American Revolution and fueled the forge that made this nation what it is today.
As a tribute, this week we will be posting some patriotic stuff. Because… America!
In the mid-1770s, after some uppity American colonists threw a bunch of tea into the Boston Harbor as a protest over the Tea Act’s “taxation without representation,” the British government tried to spank them with the Intolerable Acts. Well, those free spirited early American men didn’t much care for that, so they began taking steps to resist Brit control, such as passing the Suffolk Resolves and creating the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Not about to take any guff from those yanks, the British government declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion and, as oppressors often do with those they want to control, decided to disarm the people. Nihil novi sub sole, right?
It was on their way to capture and destroy militia supplies that, under secret orders, approximately 700 British Army regulars under the command of Lt. Col. Francis Smith marched – by way of Lexington – on Concord. There, at the North Bridge, 400 or so militiamen engaged a contingent of the British regulars, driving them back to Concord proper where the rest of their force was searching for arms to confiscate before being forced to withdraw, first back to Lexington – where shots had been fired earlier in the day – and then, along with their reinforcements, back to Boston. That day, April 19, 1775, the battles of Lexington and Concord marked the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War and put us on the path to becoming the nation that we are today.
Some 62 years later, Ralph Waldo Emerson penned the Concord Hymn for the dedication of the memorial at the North Bridge to commemorate “the shot heard ’round the world:” Continue reading
2015 NSSF Industry Summit Hits High Notes
Keynote presenter Seth Mattison at the 2015 NSSF Industry Summit.
The 2015 NSSF Industry Summit, held this past week in Savannah, Georgia, is one that will go down on the books. Setting a new attendance record and sold to capacity, firearms industry professionals met for two days of presentations that garnered a wealth of accolades from those who traveled from all across the country to engage in discussions aimed at increasing hunter and shooting sports participation in America.
The central theme of the 2015 Industry Summit, diversity, is one that proved the industry is preparing to significantly change the way it does business.
“We’ve talked loosely about diversity for years,” said Chris Dolnack, NSSF Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, “but there’s never been a cohesive effort across the industry as a whole to address this subject and innovate change. This year’s Industry Summit showed us that we’re about to experience a ground-swell shift in that attitude. Summit attendees came fully prepared, arriving with focused, on-point questions about what changes they need to make in their businesses to embrace a new consumer audience. Rewarded with a panel of speakers who presented numerous models of success that that are replicable from manufacturer to retailer, wildlife agency to public range, Summit attendees took away viable avenues of change that will positively impact our industry in the months to come.” Continue reading
Have a Safe and Happy Memorial Day 2015
Memorial Day isn’t just about shoe sales, beer and brats. Formerly known as Decoration Day until its official name change in 1967, Memorial Day is a day to honor and remember those who have died while in service to the nation. Read more about the history of the holiday here.
Although Memorial Day, for many, does mean a three day weekend, time spent with family and friends, a fishing trip or a cookout, big sales and big parties, take some time out from the festivities to remember why you get that long weekend and why you get to enjoy the freedoms that we have.
While it sometimes sounds trite, freedom is truly not free. The freedoms that we enjoy in this county were bought and paid for with the blood of the men and women that we honor this weekend.
Stay safe, GunLink-ers.
Students for Concealed Carry “Empty Holster Protest” Coming Up
Group Seeks Social Media Users to Help Spread the Word via Thunderclap
Students for Concealed Carry, a student-run, national, non-partisan organization which advocates for legal concealed carry on college campuses is organizing an “empty holster protest” March 30 – April 3, 2015 and they need your help to spread the word.
The group describes the (school) week-long protest as a peaceful demonstration that involves students wearing empty holsters to protest college polices and/or state laws that disarm law-abiding citizens who are legally permitted to carry a concealed firearm in hundreds of other locations in their respective states. Participants will also be distributing literature, and holding debates or speaking events on the subject of on-campus carry.
They are using the Thunderclap tool to flood social media with a big announcement at March 30 at 9:00AM EDT. Participants who sign up will have the announcement (and only this one announcement) posted to their social media timeline at the specified time. Check it out and sign up here. Continue reading
ANME Winter Expo Kicks Off in Las Vegas
Army Navy Military Expo Showcases Backbone of Tactical and Surplus Industry
The Army Navy Military Expo (ANME) kicked off Sunday at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, just days before the official start of that other big show in town catering to similar crowds. The ANME is a business-to-business trade show that offers goods from the army, navy, tactical & law enforcement, camping & outdoors industries. GunLink staff had a chance to stop by the show on opening day to walk the aisles and visit with a number of the exhibitors.
As one exhibitor explained to us, the show was born about half a decade ago following a change of direction in another show that many of the vendors had previously focused on and has been growing ever since. For business owners and buyers in the surplus and tactical industries, the ANME offers much more personal opportunities to interact with their suppliers than some larger shows. The show also offers a venue for SMBs and start-ups for whom getting on an exhibitor waiting list and hoping to get in might not work.
There is some overlap between SHOT and ANME exhibitors and attendees – we saw some familiar faces both in the booths as well as walking the aisles, including a James Yeager sighting – but another vendor explained to us that there is often a marked difference what attendees are looking for. Rather than focusing on the latest firearms and high-tech gadgets, attendees here are looking for genuine military surplus goods as well as outdoor and survival staples and basic tactical products – something that can be challenging in a world where the finite supply of vintage surplus goods is ever shrinking. Continue reading
Happy New Year… Stay Safe!
Happy New Year, GunLinkers. 2014 flew by for us but, all in all, it was pretty good and we hope that you had a great year and are geared up for a great 2015.
That said, it’s time for the annual “don’t shoot your guns into the air to celebrate at midnight” and “don’t get drunk and play with guns” post. If you choose to ring in the new year by exercising the constitutionally protected rights that we all spent the year fighting for, we hope that you do so intelligently and safely: no booze with your guns, no shooting in the air and always following the rules for gun safety. The ATF has issued the following release warning against celebratory gunfire:
Special Agent in Charge Christopher Shaefer, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Atlanta Field Division, wishes everyone a happy New Year’s and is encouraging the public to celebrate the arrival of the New Year responsibly and safely.
ATF wants you to know that celebratory gunfire is not only unsafe; it may be against the law. Discharging a firearm into the air may lead to charges under Georgia state law or federal charges if that person is prohibited from possessing a firearm. ATF will continue to support state and local law enforcement agencies by conducting ballistics testing on shell casings recovered if celebratory random shooting is suspected. ATF will also aggressively pursue any Federal charges applicable to help deter these irresponsible and dangerous incidents.
“ATF wants you to know that you can enjoy the festivities without placing the public in danger. We don’t want to see the New Year ruined by a senseless tragedy as a result of someone shooting a gun in the air,” said Shaefer.
ATF established the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) as a tool to help law enforcement combat violent firearms related crime. Through the use of this program, ATF administers automated ballistic imaging technology for NIBIN Partners: Federal, State and local law enforcement, forensic science, and attorney agencies in the United States. Partners use this technology to acquire digital images of the markings made on spent ammunition recovered from a crime scene or a crime gun test fire and then compare those images (in a matter of hours) against earlier NIBIN entries.
If residents observe anyone criminally misusing a firearm, they are urged to contact their local police department immediately, or call ATF at 1-800-ATF-GUNS (800 283-4867).
ATF is the lead federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in violent crimes involving firearms and regulation of the firearms industry. More information on ATF can be found at www.atf.gov.
