Canada’s Gun Industry Could Mimic FedEx Reply to New York Times

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TheGunBlog.ca — Canada’s firearm industry is often silent against inaccurate or biased media reports pushing gun bans.

It could mimic FedEx Corp.’s firm and unapologetic response to a New York Times article saying the U.S. parcel-delivery company paid no federal taxes last year.

“The New York Times published a distorted and factually incorrect story on the front page of the Sunday, November 17 edition concerning FedEx and our billions of dollars of tax payments and billions of dollars of investments in the U.S. economy,” FedEx Chairman and CEO Frederick Smith said in a statement on Nov. 17.

Accomplices and Cheerleaders

Canada’s largest publishers often act as accomplices and cheerleaders for prohibitionist politicians.

Ideas for a Strong Response

Using FedEx as inspiration, here are some points the firearm industry could make in future responses:

Your factually incorrect article/statement/show (etc.) is a deliberate and irresponsible distortion of our industry, our customers and our values.

Nobody has more at stake in keeping our families, our communities and our country safe than the almost 50,000 men and women who work in the Canadian firearm industry.

We are on the front lines of personal and public safety, and we take our responsibility seriously.

We go far above and beyond legal requirements. Every day we decline unauthorized shoppers, we work with police investigators when warranted, while steadfastly defending the dignity, privacy and freedoms of our customers.

  • We are proud to stand up for the Canadian shooting community’s values of safety, responsibility and good citizenship.
  • We are proud to stand up for Canada’s culture, tradition and heritage of firearm ownership.
  • We are proud to supply the military, police and law-enforcement officers who depend on the products we sell for their safety, our safety and your safety, and who defend our values, freedoms and way of life.
  • We are proud to supply hunters who feed their families and communities, and who are among the country’s top contributors to nature conservation, habitat restoration, wildlife management and outdoor education.
  • We are proud to supply athletes who train to the pinnacle of human achievement and represent Canada on the world stage.
  • We are proud to supply parents and teachers who train children and youth in safety, responsibility, discipline and skill through marksmanship, and help them develop a love of nature and the outdoors.
  • We are proud to supply recreational and sport shooters who raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity every year.
  • We are proud to supply the 2.2 million Canadian men and women of good character with police authorizations to own firearms.
  • We are proud of our community’s $8.5 billion direct contribution to the Canadian economy every year.

We find it slanderous and vile that you would suggest our industry and our clients have some part in harmful and immoral criminal activity, and that you’d seek to destroy our livelihoods, confiscate our property and violate our rights.

We find it irresponsible that you propose gun bans to wipe out billions of dollars in personal assets and family wealth, kill tens of thousands of careers, and threaten hundreds of thousands of honest Canadian men and women with jail.

Although we consider your campaign against our industry, our community and our culture dangerous and disgraceful, we will continue to supply the people who keep you, your employees and your families safe.

We hope you never need to call a professional or a neighbour to save your life, but if you do, we will make sure they have the tools to do it.

If you ever want to invest in your own safety and survival, learn new skills, or simply enjoy a fun trip to the range and experience our great community, we’ll be here for you.

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