Virginia Republicans nominated their candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General at this past weekend's state convention.  Two of the three (Ken Cuccinelli for Governor and Mark Obenshain for Attorney General) have solid voting records supporting the rights of Virginia gun owners.  The third, Rev. E.W. Jackson, who is running for Lt. Governor, received an "AQ" rating from the NRA prior to the convention and there is no reason to believe he will not stand by his commitment to Liberty.  So let's take a look at the Democrats who will be nominated by primary on June 11, 2013.

Terry McAuliffe, candidate for Governor, is unopposed and the June primary is a mere formality.  He is on record as wanting to reinstate the recently repealed handgun rationing law, banning modern sporting rifles, but tried the typical anti-rights trick of trying to show his pro-rights bona fides by purchasing a very expensive shotgun at Dick's Sporting Goods earlier this year.

The Lt. Governor Candidates are Aneesh Chopra - Former U.S. Chief Technology Officer under President Obama.  Chopra is very out front with what he wants to do to the rights of Virginia's gun owners if he is elected:

• Universal background checks. Closing the gun show loophole and keeping weapons out of the hands of dangerous people.
• Banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines. This will help keep military-style weapons off our streets.

The other candidate for Lt. Governor is State Senator Ralph Northam.  Northam earned a "D" rating from the NRA the last time he ran for re-election.  During his time in the Senate he has opposed repealing handgun rationing, and repealing the restaurant ban.

For Attorney General, we have Sen. Mark R. Herring, and Justin Fairfax a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Fairfax was kind enough to provide a You Tube video of him talking about is gun ban agenda.

Here's a newsflash Mr. Fairfax, none of the things you mentioned in that video would have stopped the shootings you listed.

Then there is Senator Mark Herring.  He received a "D" rating from the NRA in 2011.  Besides voting against repealing handgun rationing and repeal of the restaurant ban, he also voted against keeping personal information of Concealed Handgun Permit holders private.

So, it is very clear which candidates for statewide office this year support your right to keep and bear arms, and it is not the Democrat candidates.

After enduring a very very long nominating convention on Saturday, the question has to be asked, will the Virginia Republicans finally go to primaries to nominate their statewide candidates?  Actually, that question was answered Friday when the State Central Committee meeting, the governing body of the state party, voted to nominate next year's U.S. Senate candidate by convention.  Granted they did not have the benefit of Saturday's fiasco before that vote, but it is not likely they will go back and change their decision.  I can't do any better than Brian Schoeneman did over at Bearing Drift explaining exactly why this is simply nuts.
Let’s look at the numbers.

8,094 – The total number of registered delegates who showed up, out of over 12,000 who registered.
255,826 – The number of Republicans casting a ballot in the 2012 U.S. Senate primary.

Just from those numbers you can see that the majority of well-motivated Republicans interested in participating in our nominating processes were disenfranchised by the State Convention. Then there is the cost to the state party putting this thing on.  In years passed, they charged a delegate filing fee of $35.00.  Not only did this give an individual at least some incentive to actually show up because they invested a little money in the exercise, but it helped raise money for the state GOP.  But some enterprising college student sued the party after one of the large conventions in the 90's and the party had to make the fees voluntary.  So, now the party pays much of the cost of renting the Richmond Coliseum (a now dilapidated arena that not even the NCAA will use to hold first round tournament games) by charging fees to guests.  For instance, if delegates want to bring their children for this all day (and this year well into the night) event, it cost $25 per child.  It is doubtful they make up the rental costs from voluntary filing fees and guest fees.  The money the party coughs up could be better used supporting the Party's candidates.

And as Schoeneman noted, the only information that delegates got during the three hour ballots were from bloggers via email, Facebook and Twitter.  By 5:30 PM, even this wasn't helpful as many with smartphones saw their batteries hitting red.  This led to rumors and the the fake/rescinded endorsement controversy between Corey Stewart and Pete Snyder on the final ballot. Schoeneman had it right when he wrote:
Conventioneers were treated like fungi – kept in the dark and fed crap – and that inevitably had an impact on the final selection of E.W. Jackson as our Lt. Governor nominee.  So in the end, just about half of those who even bothered to show up in the first place (12,000 registered but only 8,000 showed up yesterday morning) cast the final ballot.  This is no way for a party to get their message to the voters.  The GOP, and especially Ken Cuccinelli is left with a Lt. Governor candidate that no one even considered to have a chance when they walked into but who made an inspiring speech (he is a Black minister and attorney) that moved a significant number of delegates who came in with no strong attachment to any of the seven candidates.

What this means to gun owners is we have to work extra hard to get the GOP ticket elected because the Democrat candidates for Lt. Governor, Aneesh Chopra, the former chief technology officer in the Obama administration, and state Sen. Ralph Northam of Norfolk, are not our friends. Whichever is nominated in June, should they win in November, will give Democrats control of the State Senate and the Senate Courts of Justice chairmanship to vehemently anti-gun Henry Marsh.  The stakes could not be higher.  The state GOP made it that much more difficult for us but we have to play the hand we are dealt.

NRA-ILA has issued grades for the candidates running for the GOP nominations for Lt. Governor and and Attorney General.  No endorsements are made but if you are looking for candidates who have a voting record, your choices for Lt. Governor are between Scott Ligamfelter and Steve Martin.  If neither of them make it beyond the first ballot, it's anyone except Jeannemarie Davis.  For Attorney General, either candidate would be friends of Virginia's gun owners.

Lieutenant Governor
Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R) Grade: D   Status: Candidate   Earl W. Jackson (R) Grade: AQ   Status: Candidate   L. Scott Lingamfelter (R) Grade: A+   Status: Candidate   Stephen H. Martin (R) Grade: A   Status: Candidate   Pete Snyder (R) Grade: AQ   Status: Candidate   Corey A. Stewart (R) Grade: A   Status: Candidate   Susan Stimpson (R) Grade: ?   Status: Candidate  Attorney General:

Robert B. Bell (R) Grade: A   Status: Candidate   Mark D. Obenshain (R) Grade: A   Status: Candidate If you are a delegate to the convention, VSSA will be there and you can follow VSSA's Twitter feed for news important to Virginia gun owners.  Follow VSSA at www.twitter.com/vssa.

The Hill reports:

Manchin has said he’s continuing to work behind the scenes to revive the legislation, and is considering cosmetic changes to “clarify” language that some lawmakers were uncomfortable with. For instance, the bill does not require background checks for private gun sales, only commercial sales, but some said the bill didn’t go far enough in delineating that distinction. Not sure why The Hill said private sales were not targeted by Manchin/Toomey/Schumer, that was the point of the amendment.  It did limit what privates sales would be covered but it did indeed cover some private sales, and it was the chance that this would lead to a registry of gun owners is what stopped that effort in its tracks.  We were called paranoid since the bill expressly forbid such a registry but The Hill also pointed to why gun owners didn't exactly trust such assurances.

The Manchin-Toomey bill specifically outlaws such a registry, but skeptical opponents to the legislation may now point to government usage of private-citizen data at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) as evidence the government can’t be trusted. So this begs the question, why does Manchin keep pushing on this issue?

The Hill reports this morning that the House has not backed away from moving some type of gun bill this year, but no decisions have been made yet on how to do it.
"We are trying to improve the system to keep people who are barred under the law from owning firearms, from getting access to them. We don't think the things that were proposed in the Senate do that. So we have not backed away from trying to figure out how to improve that, but we've made no decisions yet about what to do," Goodlatte explained.

Goodlatte, serving his first year as the head of the Judiciary panel, pointed out that the National Instant Criminal Background Check System needs to be reauthorized before year's end. The reauthorization could be the vehicle through which the GOP tackles the highly-charged issue. Goodlatte, who has an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA), said earlier this year he wants to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. Goodlatte, who represents Virginia's 6th Congressional District, along with 7th District Congressman Eric Cantor has made it clear they want to improve the information reported to the background check system rather than enact new laws infringing on our rights.

Gun owners have a little more control over what comes to the floor since Congressman Cantor is a friend and controls that process as Majority Leader.  But we must hold their feet to the fire.  Currently, there is no time table for any legislation to go through the Judiciary Committee and with most of the discussion being centered around immigration in the Senate, it may also overshadow gun control talk in the House.

Hat tip to New York State Rifle and Pistol Association.

Next weekend, Virginia Republicans will come to Richmond to pick their candidates for Lt. Governor and Attorney General (Ken Cuccinelli is unopposed for Governor after current Lt. Governor Bill Bolling dropped out of the race).  There are seven candidates vying for the nomination for Lt. Governor.  Two have stellar voting records on issues important to gun owners - State Senator Steve Martin and Delegate Scott Lingamfelter.  Four have no real voting record, though Pete Snyder has been charged with "taking a walk" so he did not have to vote on allowing firearms on campus as a member of the College of William and Mary Board of Visitors.  That leaves us former State Senator Jeannemarie Davis.  The only way to describer her is, shameless.

My mailbox has been flooded with mailers from candidates and the one below is the latest I received from Jeannemarie:
She claims to be the only candidate that "we can trust to protect our values" including "Protecting the Second Amendment."  Davis goes on to list that she is, a) a gun owner and NRA member, b) that she voted against legislation that would have eliminated the ability to carry firearms in public, c) voted to protect firearm manufacturers from being sued by local governments, and d) voted against increasing the cost of applying for a concealed carry permit.  While it is true she cast some positive votes as both a member of the House of Delegates and the State Senate, there is the pesky little fact that when she ran for re-election to the State Senate in 2007, she ran a campaign solely focused on closing the non-existent "gun show loophole" and trying to paint her Democratic opponent as being too pro-gun.


And then there was this appearance with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2007:

 Do either of those look like someone you can trust to protect your Second Amendment Rights?  Don't be fooled. Jeannemarie Davis is no friend to gun owners.  If you are a delegate to next week's GOP State Convention, don't vote for Jeannemarie.

Delegate John Cosgrove won a resounding victory in last night's "Firehouse" primary for the GOP nomination in the 14th State Senate District to replace retiring Senator Harry Blevins.   Cosgrove took 66% of the vote in a three way race.  Cosgrove had to weather false and misleading attacks from an astro-turf"gun rights group that prides itself on such tactics.  This from the conservative blog BearingDrift:
Cosgrove almost tripled the vote of Chris Stearns in a firehouse primary, a method of nomination thought to be friendly to Tea Party candidates. The losing campaign was astroturf-a-plenty, as the Paul-backed Stearns moved into the district prior to filing, and blanketed the district with attack mail. Out-of-towners showed up to knock on doors.

Out-of-staters Ron Paul and Sen. Rand Paul endorsed Stearns, and the fledgling “National Association for Gun Rights,” until now only known for launching false attacks on Congressmen like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Scott Rigell, launched another untrue one against Del. John Cosgrove through direct mail.

Ron and Rand Paul and this phony gun group share an egg-faced breakfast this morning. Congratulations to Delegate Cosgrove.  He is a true friend to Virginia's gun owners.  Thanks to all VSSA members who live in the 14th District that answered the call to vote last night.

The Special Republican Canvass Election for the 14th Senate District seat being vacated by Sen. Harry Blevins will be held from 5 PM to 8 PM on THURSDAY, MAY 9th. It is vitally important that this seat remain in the GOP as a flip will put the Senate Courts of Justice Committee in the hands of vehemently anti-rights Richmond Senator Henry Marsh.  Delegate John Cosgrove is running to replace Harry Blevins and he has been a true friend to gun owners.  Here is a partial list of his voting record:

HB940 - Repeal of Handgun Rationing
SB408 - Possession of concealed weapons in vehicles
HB505 - Repeal of Restaurant Ban
HB530 - Pre-emption - prohibits localities from passing laws restricting sale and ownership of firearms

This is just a very small list of the pro-rights bills Delegate Cosgrove has supported.  He also was a regular attendee at the Richmond Metro Friends of NRA Fun Shoot that was held at Sussex Shooting Sports in the early 2000's.  So, not only did he vote with us, he put his money where his mouth is so to speak.

All gun owners in the District are urged to go to the SPECIAL VOTING LOCATIONS (not your normal Polling Place) and VOTE FOR JOHN COSGROVE For State Senate.


The SPECIAL VOTING LOCATIONS ARE BELOW:

CHESAPEAKE VOTING PLACES:
Chesapeake Golf Club, 1201 Club House Drive, Chesapeake, VA 23323
Russell Memorial Library, 2808 Taylor Road, Chesapeake, VA 23321

FRANKLIN CITY VOTING PLACE:
James L. Camp, Jr. YMCA, 300 Crescent Drive, Franklin, VA 23851.

ISLE OF WIGHT VOTING PLACE:
Walters Ruritan Club, 27746 Walters Highway, Carrsville, VA 23315

PORTSMOUTH VOTING PLACE:
Pinecrest Baptist Church, 209 Felton Road, Portsmouth, VA, 23701

SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY VOTING PLACE:
Ebeneezer Baptist Church, 10686 Ivor Road, Ivor VA 23866.

SUFFOLK VOTING PLACE:
Lee-Jordan Club House, 1709 Pitchkettle Road, Suffolk, VA 23434

VIRGINIA BEACH VOTING PLACE:
Victory Baptist Church, 4125 Indian River Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23456

Please spead the word to your pro-rights friends

The Washington Post reports that the gun ban crowd is trying to resurrect the gun control debate in the Senate.
Capitol Hill aides Monday declined to identify the two Republicans who have approached Democrats about restarting the debate. But Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) signaled through their spokesmen that they would be open to debating the background-check proposal again if Democrats make significant changes.

Meanwhile, aides to Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who voted against the background check plan, disputed a new barrage of TV ads critical of her vote and said she remains opposed to the current bipartisan background check proposal. Ayotte has been targeted by Bloomberg, families from Newtown, and the PAC created by former congressman Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelley. For her part, Ayotte has not been bullied.
Ayotte spokesman Jeff Grappone called the new ads “completely false” and said that the senator voted for an alternative GOP plan to fix the background check system and strengthen mental health programs. As for Reid’s comments, Grappone said the Senate leader “doesn’t speak for Senator Ayotte.” It's interesting that Ayotte is showing more testicular fortitude that a couple of her male counterparts.  Isakson  and Flake say they may be open to reopening the debate if significant changes are made to the proposal but the fact that thye don't completely dismiss it as a non-starter shows just why gun owners cannot rest on our victory of a couple weeks ago and why we have to remain engaged in the fight for the long haul.

Wayne LaPierre addressed this very point this past weekend in Houston.

One of the folks I had a chance to speak with today was Nicholas Skrepetos of Bullseye Camera.  Bullseye is one of the electronic spotting systems exhibiting it's product at the NRA Annual Meeting this year.  With Bullseye's system, you can instantly see where you hit your target on your laptop or IPad.  For about the costing less than $600 (the 1000yd model) you have the ability to see your target, each shot that hit, and can even distinguish between multiple shooters.


This is only one of the systems I saw at the show.  I'll post more over the course of the next week.

I was channel surfing this morning while getting ready to head to the convention center and landed on CNN just in time to catch a story on whether it is a good idea to expose children to firearms at an age when they "haven't learned to tie their shoes."  They haven't uploaded video of the segment to their web site yet but the story featured a conversation with a 17 year-old competitive shotgun shooter and his mother in Florida.  The mom mentioned that firearms was always a part of their lives for generations and that they never allowed their son to have access to firearms without supervision.  The basis for the story was the negligent shooting of a two year-old by the five year-old brother in Kentucky recently and the fact that the five year-old had been given a .22 rifle.

I've been a proponent of exposing children to firearms as early as possible (ages may vary based on the maturity of the child) so that the curiosity is taken away, and that they will be taught how to safely handle firearms when ready.  I have done this with my children and it is probably safe to say VSSA members have done the same thing.

While visiting the Savage Arms booth yesterday I happened upon a .22 called the Rascal that is perfect for the young shooter because of it's size.

It's perfect for children whose reach is still too short for the standard youth firearm.  What drew my attention to it was an exhibitor had stopped with her young child who was fascinated by the colors and wanted to try it.  The mom safely took it down and as she helped her son mount the firearm on his shoulder, reminded him not to point it at someone.

People who have been around firearms all their lives know the importance of teaching their children firearm safety.  Part of that is exposing them to firearms and shooting when they are ready.  People in the media, and those who don't come from the firearm community don't understand this and it is likely they fear if we expose our children to firearms and the shooting sports, they will like it.  And that is probably the point of the type of stories like CNN ran - the more people that own and enjoy firearms, the less people will be interested in losing their rights.

If you are looking to promote your 2nd Amendment organization, the NRA Annual Meetings is the place to get attention.  I met Rachel Malone with Texas Firearms Freedom this morning.  She was handing out cards with the web site and Facebook page and information about the organization.  She was a young lady, and the type of person that we want to be active in the 2A community.  I expect to see a lot more of these type of folks throughout the weekend.  You can find more about the organization at TexasFirearmsFreedom.com.

While attending the NRA-ILA Grassroots Seminar this morning I met Kyle Coplen with the Armed Citizen Project.  He and his partner are here promoting the Armed Citizen Project, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to training and arming residents in mid-high crime areas with defensive shotguns, for free.  The post card that they were distributing notes:

In training and arming law-abiding residents, we are saturating neighborhoods with defensive weapons, and measuring the effect that a heavily armed society has on crime rates. They began here in Houston but are planning to expand into Northern Virginia.  They look for participation in the community and the more responses they receive, the greater the likelihood that a neighborhood will be chosen.  Neighborhoods that are interested in participating can visit their web sight and fill out the form at ArmedCitizenProject.org.

Participants must be able to pass a background check, be a homeowner in the area and pass the organization's legal, safety, and tactical training.

The theme of the speeches that members will hear over the course of the weekend in Houston is "The Fight is Not Over."  This from the Houston Chronicle:
"The NRA doesn't do pep rallies," said Andrew Arulan­andam, the NRA's director of public affairs. "We're engaged in a long battle that will take years. We know it's not over." And that is an important message.  The gun ban lobby hasn't stopped pushing their agenda.  West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is still shopping around his attempts to criminalize private transfers.  April 17th (the day the background check and other anti-rights amendments were defeated) was just the first round.  The most important thing is to keep gun owners as engaged as they were in the last 60 days.   This weekend will be a big part of making sure that happens.

You meet some of the nicest people at an NRA Annual Meeting.  This morning I shared a shuttle from the hotel to the covention center with a representative of Comre Safaris and had a great conversation.  I've seen a lot of hunting shows from Jim Shockey to Ted Nugent that feature African hunts and it is something that a lot of hunters may consider a  dream hunt but figure is financially out of reach.  Nancy Gysin, Safari Representative with Comre, told me however that depending on the package, you can book a hunt for about the cost of a cruise plus air fare.  If you go in groups of four, the cost can be even less.  The more exotic the game, the more the cost, but Nancy said you can still get a great hunt for less than you would think.


Comre Safaris - Plains Game from iGala Productions on Vimeo.

GLOCK, Inc. is participating in the 142nd NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits, held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX, May 3-5, 2013. They have just announced that they will donate $115,000 to four industry organizations at the Annual Meeting, as well as exhibit its products in Booth #2129. Guest appearances will be made by Team GLOCK members KC Eusebio, Virginian Tori Nonaka, and Michelle Viscusi, along with GLOCK’s celebrity spokesperson R. Lee Ermey (“Gunny”). The ceremony for all four donations with organization representatives will take place at the GLOCK booth on May 3, 2013 at 8:20 a.m.


The release is now posted on the News/Press Releases page of Glock.

I just heard while listening to the podcast of yesterday's Gun Talk program that shotgun shooting legend Tom Knapp passed away Friday.  Knapp was a true gentleman and a great ambassador for the shooting sports.  I had the occasion to speak with Tom when we shared a flight a couple years ago when I was on work related travel and he was traveling on one of his many hunts for television.  I also had the chance to have a photo take with him last year at the NRA Annual Meeting.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the Knapp family and friends at this time of loss.

The Hill reports this morning that the National Senate Republican Campaign Committee is pointing out the hypocrisy of Democrat leaders who are pushing gun control at the national level while recruiting pro-rights candidates in states like Montana and South Dakota in the hope of retaining their senate majority:

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) posted a message on its online action center Friday calling for people to sign up to support Obama’s agenda of immigration reform, commonsense gun control and equal rights. But it’s eyeing candidates in Montana and South Dakota who are not likely to support Obama’s gun control initiatives. Two of those being recruited are former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) and former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT).  Both have "A" ratings from the NRA as past office holders and were popular in their states.  Herseth Sandlin lost a close race for re-election in the wave election of 2010 and is considered the strongest candidate among Democrats to hold on to the seat.  It is unclear whether either candidate would vote with their party to criminalize private sales but a political science professor at Montana State University said it is unlikely that Schweitzer would go along with that proposal.  Max Baucus, the individual that Schweitzer would be running to replace, also voted against the Schumer, Manchin, Toomey amendment and it turned out he was not planning to run for re-election.

Contrast what Baucus did with Virginia's own Mark Warner, who likes to portray himself as a  "bipartisan moderate" Democrat that is above party allegiance.  Warner has never bucked the administration on any important vote from Obamacare to the budget.  And he did not disappoint Obama on "expanded background checks."  I'm not counting the vote on the ban on sporting rifles or standard capacity magazines because even Obama did not push either of those other than giving lip service.  The line in the sand was drawn on background checks and on that test, Mark Warner failed.

Gun owners need to question candidates in 2014 on the issue of where they stand on private transfers.  Don't let them weasel word the issue.  Make them be specific.

VSSA received promotional emails from CNBC prior to the airing of last night's premier of "America's Gun - Rise of the AR-15."  We did not promote the program as it's not our job to advertise for CNBC and since we sell ad space on the Blog and the VSSA web site, they were free to buy a banner and have it in the rotation. We have come to expect that most firearm related reports done by the "Big 3" networks is anything but unbiased and figured this would be the same.  Google the name of the program and you will find that was the basic feeling of many in the firearm rights community frequenting message boards and blogs, before the program aired.

Mid-afternoon yesterday, NBC Universal sent out another email addressing the negative perception pre-airing of the program:
We have previously reached out to you regarding the CNBC documentary about the AR-15. Some of the feedback we have seen amongst AR-15 owners and gun enthusiasts is suggesting that we will be choosing a side or going to take a negative look at the AR-15.  
Portraying the AR-15 negatively is not the objective of the documentary and we can reassure all owners and enthusiasts that we aren't choosing a side. Our team wanted to understand the AR-15's immense popularity on both sides of the debate and go beyond the clichés. Please feel free to share this information with your network in addition to this additional clip from the special. If the program had been completely like the below, it might have been a little easier to believe it was not their objective to give a negative impression of the rifles because this clip goes right to what they said was the point of the program, to understand the popularity of the AR-15:

But then there is also this in the program:



The mainstream media's version of "unbiased" is to reinforce what is generally in the public domain (i.e. the second video) rather than present the other side of the story so the public has a complete picture.  When you have a doctor describing wounds as "battlefield type wounds," that kind of reinforces the sterotype that the AR-15 is a "battlefield weapon" as Obama and Biden inaccurately describe them.

I guess I should be thankful that the segment with the dentist and real estate agent presented the side that the "typical" AR-15 owners are professioanls and not "anti-government tea-party types" but frankly that message gets lost when you then have a segment with the shooting victim and the doctors who treated her.  What do you think was their underlying message? The victim, Farrah Soudani, for her part did not blame the guns, but said it is, stupid people who kill people. She called for "mandatory psychological evaluations" before anyone can purchase a fiream, "especially one with the AR-15's characteristics."

If you did not see last night's airing and are interested in seeing the program for yourself, it will re-air on CNBC on Sunday at 9:00 PM.

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that GE Capital is cutting off lending services to firearm retailers:
This month, Glenn Duncan, owner of Duncan's Outdoor Store in Bay City, Mich., said he received a letter from GE Capital Retail Bank in which the lender said it had made "the difficult decision" to stop providing financing services to his store. Other gun dealers have received similar notices. This service was a financing option for customers who did business with firearm retailers, benefiting the buyer buy giving them options to finance large purchases, and the seller, by allowing them to make more sales of big ticket items to individual customers.  GE is ending the service for those retailers whose main business is firearms.
Daniel Johnson, a patrolman in the Bourbonnais Police Department in northern Illinois, said he got a loan to purchase a $2,250 Daniel Defense M4 Carbine, a sleek looking black rifle with plenty of "bells and whistles," after he was selected for the county SWAT team.

"It's kind of like, do you want to play basketball with Michael Jordan, or do you want to play with a local high school kid?" he said, explaining why he didn't use the standard-issue AR15 supplied by the force. Married with two kids and a mortgage, he found the three-year financing deal a "great help." This is the latest move that began shortly after the Newtown shootings when Cerberus Capital Management LP said it would try to sell the gun company it owns—Freedom Group Inc.— which makes Remington, Bushmaster, Marlin and H&R branded firearms.  GE Capital is located in Conneticutt and according to the WSJ, many of the employees live around Newtown and have children in the Sandy Hook Elementary School.  The Journal also reported that the father of the Sandy Hook shooter is an executive with GE Capital.  GE Capital responded:
"Industry changes, new legislation and tragic events" led GE Capital to reexamine its policies on financing firearms, spokesman Russell Wilkerson said. It remains to be seen how the change will affect gun owners and the industry but the message that it sends is what should concern us.