Small arms maker Ruger has kicked of a campaign to sell 2 million guns in less than a year to help fund the National Rifle Association’s lobbying shop.
The “2 Million Gun Challenge” is a repeat of Sturm, Ruger & Co.’s 2012 pledge to sell 1 million weapons to help the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, headed by outspoken Second Amendment defender Chris W. Cox.
Ruger has pledged to donate $2 for every weapon sold to NRA-ILA.
“We’re bringing back the One Million Gun Challenge with a twist. Our goal is to sell two million firearms between the 2015 and 2016 NRA Annual Meetings,” said Ruger CEO Mike Fifer in a statement.
“We believe we can do it again,” he said, referring to the successful 2012 effort.
The next NRA annual meeting is in Louisville, Ky. May 19-22.
The NRA welcomed the pledge, which amounts to selling some 6,134 guns a day.
Ruger sells arms like this popular “Lightweight Compact Revolver.”
“The next year and a half, until President Obama leaves office, is the most dangerous period in history for the Second Amendment and our freedom. The next election is all or nothing for America’s gun owners. To help build the most effective and toughest NRA ever, the commitment of Ruger is vital in our fight to take back the White House and save our freedom,” said Wayne LaPierre, the gun group’s executive vice president.
Cox added, “By supporting the NRA’s fight to defend the right to keep and bear arms, Ruger not only advances the rights of American gun owners and hunters — they also directly benefit the freedoms and safety of all Americans.”
Cox’s shop has been effective in blocking gun control in recent years, most notably after the Sandy Hook, Conn., shootings in 2012 and the recent effort by the administration to ban a popular ammo used in AR-15s.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
