The gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson responded to criticism of the firearm industry in a statement Monday, blaming politicians for rising violent crime.
“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 … Smith & Wesson and other firearm manufacturers are somehow responsible for the crime wave that has predictably resulted from these destructive policies,” Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. President and CEO Mark Smith said. (RELATED: Unwelcome Business Vs. Greener Pastures: The Reason Behind Smith & Wesson’s Tennessee Move)
Amid an unprecedented and unjustified attack on the firearm industry, Smith & Wesson President & CEO issues strong statement: pic.twitter.com/6NHztbGIe4
— Smith & Wesson Inc. (@Smith_WessonInc) August 15, 2022
Smith contended that rather than causing crime, guns protect victims from their would-be assailants.
“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.”
“Instead, Smith & Wesson provides these citizens with the means to protect themselves and their families,” the statement continued.
Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts claimed in July that the firearms industry uses “white supremacy” in marketing firearms.
The House introduced a measure in July directing the Federal Trade Commission to investigate gun manufacturers’ advertising and marketing practices. The CEOs of Daniel Defense and Sturm and Ruger & Co. pushed back on the claim that firearms manufacturers are to blame for mass shootings, claiming that these murders are a “local problem.”