Smith & Wesson Donates $500,000 to Group Fighting Massachusetts Law

In response to Attorney General's crackdown on "copycat assault weapons"

Massachusetts Sued Over Gun Laws

In response to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s crackdown on “copycat assault weapons” that we published about in this post called “Massachusetts Gun Dealers Feeling Assault Weapon Crackdown,” gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson announced yesterday that they were donating $500,000 to the US’s largest gun industry trade organization to help fight back.

The Massachusetts Attorney General, Maura Healey, sent out a notice from her office on July 20 that the sale of any gun with an operating system or interchangeable parts that are the same as that of a banned gun is also banned. Healey’s notice described the AR-15 as an assault weapon of mass murder that does not belong in the hands of civilians.

The stock shares of Smith & Wesson, the second-largest gun manufacturer in the United States, hit an all-time high this week, hitting $30.59 each. Shares in Sturm Ruger, the US’s largest gun maker, also surged. Both companies saw the increase after the FBI announced July’s background check figures and reported that background checks for new guns set a record high in July.

Smith & Wesson’s half-million-dollar contribution to the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) is to continue the organization’s battle against “arbitrary government action that threatens to turn lawful gun owners and dealers into criminals,” said the company.

James Debney, the British chief executive of Smith & Wesson, said: “We are honored to support this effort on behalf of our employees and especially the law-abiding firearm owners of Massachusetts, who have so recently been denied their fundamental rights through arbitrary government action that threatens to turn lawful gun owners and dealers into criminals. To stop this from happening elsewhere, it is imperative that citizens across our nation are informed and knowledgeable about their rights, their candidates and the importance of their vote in this critical election year.”