Around the Outdoors

The number of companies announcing a formal policy of not selling to law enforcement, individual officers, states or municipalities that have passed anti-gun ordinances or laws since the tragic December shooting in Connecticut is growing – daily- and there’s no sign that the trend toward “new laws mean no new products” is slowing. If anything, more companies are getting behind the idea that punishing law-abiding citizens for the acts of crazies isn’t acceptable conduct.

As of this writing, there hasn’t been a single government response to those notices, but sooner or later, someone in those governments will realize the trend is not going to reverse. If anything, the tone has gotten progressively more harsh toward politicians who believe passing a law will prevent tragedies from happening.

Colorado seems to be the battleground state at this point. Magpul Industries has led the anti-legislation fight, promising to move out of Colorado if four anti-gun bills are passed and signed into law by Governor John Hickenlooper. Magpul’s major suppliers have also promised to join the relocation, but the governor seems intent on passing the measures, regardless of the outcome.

In the interim, however, Magpul has decided to work to get their magazines into the hands of as many Colorado residents as possible. The company has established a program that allows state residents to purchase specific magazines directly from the company.

If you’re thinking about getting into that program, you need to know that both the billing and shipping addresses must be in Colorado. And, no, the company’s not going to sell 30-round magazines to Denver residents. There’s already a ban in place there.

With companies stepping up their actions, it seems time for individual gun owners to get involved as well…suggestions include boycotts of products and promises not to visit those areas. As one angry gun owner posted “when the hotels are empty, the restaurants closed, their products have rotted in the fields and they see we’re serious, maybe they’ll reconsider their ill-conceived actions.”

In Alabama, Guntersville Mayor Leigh Dollar may have realized her proposed ordinance to authorize that community’s police officers to disarm potentially “unruly” citizens in an emergency isn’t quite so acceptable as she’d imagined.

The ink she’s bringing her community isn’t positive. Her ordinance is scheduled for a city council meeting today in Guntersville, but we’re hearing from residents that the idea might be “revisited” before the session is called to order. Just in case, gun owners say they’re going to be out in force for the city council meeting.

The Second Amendment Foundation has notified Mayor Dollar’s that legal action is ahead- quickly- if she proceeds. As SAF’s letter to Guntersville City Attorney Dan Warnes reads “The city of Guntersville has to authority to adopt or enforce such an ordinance.”

That’s not all…the SAF also put the city attorney on notice that the existing tax on firearms dealers and a prohibition on carrying firearms at farmers’ markets are also violations of Alabama state law.

Admittedly, there’s a growing backlash against those states and politicians who feel the urge to “do something” after Sandy Hook, but a single big question remains unanswered: can individuals overcome the nearly limitless war chest New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has pledged to fight against gun ownership?

With an estimated net worth of twenty five billion dollars, Bloomberg has pledged to spend “whatever it takes” to crackdown on guns and gun ownership. A more immediate return on his investment might be reopening the mental institutions New York closed, resulting in the release of hundreds of mentally disturbed people onto the streets.

As crazy it seems to pro-gun people, no one opposing gun ownership seems to believe helping the mentally disturbed would do anything to keep guns from forcing them to do bad things.

Personally, that’s crazy thinking to me.

First thing Friday morning, I noticed about two-dozen copies of a link to the Daily Caller in my email box. A Caller report spoke of a plan in the works to consolidate the majority of outdoor publications and outdoor television and then, well, wipe them out.

It was, essentially, a rehash of a story that first made the rounds back in 2007 when InterMedia Outdoors acquired The Sportsman Channel. Rumors are considerably more resilient on the internet- especially when they’re beefed up with “insider information” about plans to consolidate all the “pro-Second Amendment media titles in the country, strip them down, and destroy them like venture capitalists do sometimes.”

Having seen venture capitalists (we used to call them “vulture capitalists” in a less enlightened time) do exactly that, it took me about two minutes to dash off an inquiry to InterMedia Outdoors CEO Jeff Paro asking, simply, “What’s up with this?”

With his permission, I’m going to print his response simply so I can’t be accused of “flavoring” a response to the DC story.

“An article appeared Friday morning in the Daily Caller that suggested that InterMedia Outdoors and our investment partners, InterMedia Partners, specifically Leo Hindery Jr., are involved in a politically motivated scheme to acquire and then dismantle all of our thriving businesses in the hunting, shooting and fishing space. The article is based on “unnamed sources” and is simply a preposterous idea. InterMedia Outdoors is owned by InterMedia Partners VII, a private equity fund with numerous limited partners. Leo Hindery, Jr.m as the General Partner of InterMedia Partners, has a legal and fiduciary responsibility to his limited partners to maximize the value of each of InterMedia Partners’ investments, including InterMedia Outdoors, and he vigorously works to do that each day, as witnessed by his long and successful track record. To suggest different is wildly incorrect.”

Apparently the thinking in the corporate offices is a disgruntled ex-employee is behind the “work of fiction”. According to Paro, no one from the Daily Caller contacted IMO about the accusations.

Just wanted you to know. With the rumors, as the news, as always, we’ll keep you posted.

Jim Shepherd is the Editor and Publisher of the The Outdoor Wire Digital Network.

The material published here reflects only the opinion of the author, and does not necessarily reflect official positions of Outdoor Channel.