Smith & Wesson firearm president and CEO Mark Smith lashed out at leftist politicians for creating America’s “culture of lawlessness” while they blame gun makers for violent crime.
In an open letter on Twitter, Smith accused “politicians and their lobbying partners in the media” of efforts to disparage and undermine his company and other firearm makers.
“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 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.”
Smith’s letter comes amid increasing pressure by anti-gun Democrats and President Joe Biden’s administration to expand federal gun control laws, including a ban on semi-automatic weapons.
There are 393 million registered firearms in the United States, the U.S. Census Bureau, Small Arms Survey reports. While more than 45,000 deaths were attributed to guns in 2021, according to federal statistics, about half were due to suicide.
About 700 were mass shootings used to justify Second Amendment challenges. The city of Chicago, which has one of the nation’s highest rates of gun violence, for example, also has some of the most stringent gun control laws.
According to the Chicago Police Department’s crime statistics for 2021, there were 797 murders, up 3 percent from 2020, and 3,561 shooting incidents, a 9 percent increase from the previous year.
The U.S. Department of Justice reports in its National Crime Victimization Survey the number of guns used in self-defense varies between 760,000 and 3.6 million, based on 18 different surveys, with an average of 2 million defensive gun uses per year.
“It is no surprise that cities suffering the 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,” Smith wrote.
“But rather than confront the failure of their policies, certain politicians have sought more laws restricting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, while simultaneously continuing to undermine our institutions of law and order.”
Smith blamed politicians that seek to prohibit gun manufacturers from advertising products that remind citizens of their constitutional right to bear arms for the rising wave of violence.
“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,” Smith wrote.
“Instead, Smith & Wesson provides these citizens with the means to protect themselves and their families.”
Smith & Wesson was established 170 years ago with headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts, offering its products to law enforcement and gun enthusiasts.
“We will continue informing law-abiding citizens that they have a constitutionally protected right to defend themselves and their families. We will never back down in our defense of the Second Amendment,” Smith wrote.
