Georgia company that made Las Vegas shooter’s rifles is laying off workers

[Zippyjuan]

This wasn't the only brand of rifles the shooter used. And it wasn't because of the incident.

Paddock had four Daniel Defense DDM4 rifles, three FN-15s and other rifles made by Sig Sauer.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-las...htmlstory.html


http://investigations.blog.ajc.com/2...g-off-workers/

The Georgia company that made some of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock’s assault rifles is reportedly laying off as many as one-third of its employees.

Daniel Defense, based in Bryan County, 25 miles northwest of Savannah, is reducing its work force because of declining sales, according to reports in Recoil, a firearms-related website, and the Bryan County News. Recoil said the company laid off 100 of the almost 300 workers at its plants in Georgia and South Carolina.

The downturn seems to be unrelated to the Oct. 1 shooting at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas, which left 58 people dead and about 500 injured. Authorities have said that when they searched the 32nd-floor hotel suite from which Paddock fired on concert-goers, they found about 20 weapons; at least four were semiautomatic rifles made by Daniel Defense. It is not known whether any of the Daniel Defense guns were among those Paddock had modified to fire in a manner similar to automatic weapons.

The company’s only public statement on the shooting was a Facebook post in which it expressed condolences to the victims.

The belt-tightening at Daniel Defense may be related more to the “Trump Slump” – an industry-wide decline in sales since President Donald Trump took office in January. Gun sales increased several times under President Barack Obama’s administration, especially after he called for firearms restrictions following mass shootings, notably the one that left 26 dead in a Connecticut elementary school. Sales also spiked before November’s presidential election after Trump claimed – falsely – that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton wanted to revoke the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms.

In the first half of 2017, the FBI performed 9 percent fewer firearms background checks compared to the same period a year earlier. In Georgia, the number of background checks declined by 11 percent.

Background checks don’t precisely correlate to the pace of gun sales. Some states periodically request new checks on people who bought guns in years past. Generally, though, the checks are a reliable indicator of the robustness of the gun market.

Daniel Defense, founded only about 15 years ago, produces some of the world’s highest-priced assault rifles, generally retailing for $2,000 to $3,000. Twice in the past four years, Gov. Nathan Deal announced expansions in the company’s work force.

Trade-industry publications suggest Daniel Defense may be consolidating its manufacturing in a single location, a new 300,000-square-foot facility in Bryan County.

Company executives did not respond to requests for an interview. A spokeswoman told the Bryan County News the company was working on a public statement.

Daniel Defense has not notified the Georgia Department of Economic Development of any layoffs, an agency spokeswoman said Tuesday.

[oyarde]

I would not really say that trump saying clinton wanting to gut the second amendment is false .

[Zippyjuan]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...=.c2b4a513b4a2

Gun sales have dropped since Trump’s election, except among people scared of his administration


BOSSIER CITY, La. — Sales of guns and ammunition in the United States have dropped precipitously since Election Day, according to FBI statistics, trade groups, gun shop owners and corporate reports, what many say is the result of electing a president who has vowed to protect gun rights.

But that overall decline has been accompanied by some unusual growth: Gun clubs and shops that cater to black and LGBT clients say there has been an uptick in interest in firearms since November among those who fear that racial and gender-based violence could increase during Donald Trump’s presidency.

The slowdown in gun purchases, which came at the end of a record sales year, is due in part to promises that Trump and the Republican Congress made to expand gun rights. Firearms enthusiasts and salesmen said Trump’s victory removed the sense of urgency to buy that some felt under President Barack Obama, who tried to ban the sale of assault-style weapons.

At Ron’s Guns here, along the Red River in the northwest corner of Louisiana, owner Gene Mock stocked up on inventory, anticipating that Democrat Hillary Clinton would win the presidency and continue the push for an assault weapons ban. Sales the week before the election were among the most brisk the shop had ever seen.

But now that Trump, who has the full backing of the National Rifle Association, is president, fewer customers are buying, and there is a glut of product.

“There will be a lot of deals to be had in the near future,” Mock said.

But Philip Smith, president of the National African American Gun Association, said his group has seen a recent surge that appears to be driven by fear that the nation’s divisive politics could spiral into violence.

“Trump is some of that reason, and rhetoric from other groups that have been on the fringe,” Smith said. “It’s like being racist is cool now.”

Smith said the group has added more than 7,000 members since Election Day and new chapters are popping up all over the country. They include one in Bowie, Md., that started last month and already has 55 members.

“People are scared and rightfully so,” said Stephen Yorkman, who founded the Maryland chapter. “They feel better if they at least learn how to shoot a firearm or own one.”

Mannewitz is glad Obama is out of office but acknowledges that the Democrat was great for business: The store recorded 8 percent growth last year and sold record amounts of AR-15s during his presidency. The numbers bear his perceptions out: In October 2008, the month before Obama’s election, the FBI processed 1.2 million background checks. In November, the FBI performed 2.6 million background checks.

Ahead of a possible Clinton win and an expected “panic buy” wave, Mannewitz prepared for customers rushing to stores and emptying shelves for items that had the potential to fall under a possible ban: AR-15s, high-capacity magazines and large quantities of ammunition. It never came, and the extra six-month supply of ammunition that he had amassed — hoping to sell it all in 60 days — is still sitting on his shelves.

Mannewitz, who has sold firearms since 1979, has ridden out dips in the gun market before and thinks that demand will soften but not stop.

“In bad times, when people are fearful of their safety, they buy guns,” he said. “In good times, they buy nicer guns.”

In Cleveland, gun dealer Kevin Jones is seeing the opposite: Trump has been better for sales than Obama, an increase driven by people who want to protect themselves from potential violence.

“A lot of people are afraid of this administration and afraid of what this kind of started,” he said. “Whether it’s perceived or true, a lot of people feel that there’s a lot more racially oriented violence out there right now.”

Jones said that after the election he got into a racially charged altercation for the first time in years. He was driving and had to move to another lane when another driver did the same. Jones said the other driver, an older white man, leaned out of his car and started shouting racial epithets. He followed Jones for about a mile, shouting the n-word.

The men got out of their cars and Jones drew his firearm, keeping it by his side. The situation de-escalated, but Jones felt safer carrying a gun.

“To be honest, at that point I was thankful that I did have my firearm with me,” he said.

For Gwendolyn Patton, Trump’s victory has her caught in the middle: Some members of her LGBT shooting organization, the Pink Pistols, are thrilled to have a gun-friendly president. But many new members are terrified that Trump will roll back gay rights and feel they must learn how to defend themselves.

“Suddenly they’re buying guns,” she said. “The rhetoric has flipped.”

Patton said her organization saw an uptick in membership last year after a gunman killed 49 people in an Orlando gay nightclub. Interest also boomed after the election, and new chapters are opening.

“One side didn’t perceive despotism under Obama and they do under Trump,” Patton said, noting that there is “this new contingent of LGBT people who have decided that they have been mugged by the election.”

[pcosmar]

This wasn't the only brand of rifles the shooter used. And it wasn't because of the incident.

You are quite correct.

The market is pretty well saturated,, and prices are down too..

I may be Prohibited from ownership,, but not from keeping up.

edit,
does make one wonder about the point of the headline though.