Two Ways To Approach The Election
Yesterday, a deluge of negative publicity and feedback from gun owners angered by Cooper Firearms of Montana founder Dan Cooper's support of Barack Obama's candidacy for President of the United States.
Gun owners were outraged that someone who made their living in the firearms business would support a candidate and a party that has consistently tried to limit or eliminate firearms ownership. They also made it abundantly clear they would not have anything to do with Cooper or Cooper Firearms in the future.
Apparently the employees and board of directors of Cooper Firearms of Montana realized the remarks of an individual was going to damage - if not destroy the company that carried his name. They decided to take action, posting the following on the Cooper Firearms (
www.cooperfirearms.com) website:
In response to the recent article highlighting Dan Cooper's personal political donations, the board of directors, shareholders and employees of Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc would like to issue the following statement.
The employees, shareholders and board of directors of Cooper Firearms of Montana, do not share the personal political views of Dan Cooper.
Although we all believe everyone has a right to vote and donate as they see fit, it has become apparent that the fallout may affect more than just Mr. Cooper. It may also affect the employees and the shareholders of Cooper Firearms.
The board of directors has asked Mr. Cooper to resign as President of Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc.
Daily operations will continue with the competent staff currently in place in Stevensville, MT producing the finest, most accurate rifles money can buy.
Dan Cooper has spent all of his working life producing the highest quality rifles built here in the USA. He started with nothing but the American Dream and built that into firearms company anyone would be proud of. We firmly believe Dan stands by the 2nd amendment. We wish him all of the best in his future pursuits.
While the action is definitive, the firestorm of controversy continues. As bloggers have noted, Cooper's resignation hasn't been announced. As one of the co-founders of the company, there's also a probability that Cooper still owns a stake in the company. One blogger summed up many of the posts regarding Cooper: "I'm sorry, but this is one of those 'I need to see the head on a pike' situations before I'm ready to call it quits."
Harsh? Maybe, but the news that a firearms maker would choose to put his personal money behind a candidate that has made no secret of his anti-gun feelings and intent was the equivalent of pouring gasoline on a roaring fire.
The Cooper story isn't over. Hopefully, the people of the company won't be collateral damage from one man's personal decisions. But we'll keep you posted.
Even as one gun company's owner appeared to have turned away from his customers, Pete and Frank Brownell, owners of the largest catalog company in the firearms industry, decided on Monday they would offer a course of action all firearms owners could take as the various campaigns head into the home stretch in order to protect the Second Amendment for the next four years.
In their message, distributed across the industry, the Brownells point outthat regardless of the outcome of the presidential race, gun owners can protect their Second Amendment rights by supporting pro-gun candidates in critical U.S. House and Senate races. There, they wrote "Our votes-and our dollars - make a much larger impact than the run for President." Crucial Congressional races, they pointed out, might have a huge impact on your Second Amendment rights.
That's exactly right. All dollars are important in House and Senate races. Running out of money in the final stages of a campaign today is dangerous - if not fatal.
Their message is the same one you've been hearing for months - and it's still correct. Every vote counts -please don't think your voice isn't heard. We know better.
Jim Shepherd
Editor's Note: You can read the full Brownell's message note by clicking here