New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently spoke to the National Press Club, urging reporters to call out gun manufacturers for their alleged responsibility for American “gun violence.” Adams, a former New York City police captain, blames legitimate gunmakers for his city’s rising violent crime, without once mentioning the criminals who perpetrate that violence.
Instead, he calls out firearms CEOs by name, including Ruger’s Chris Killoy, Smith & Wesson’s Mark Smith, Daniel Defense’s Marty Daniel, and Sig Sauer’s Ron Cohen. Adams details crimes committed with firearms from those companies, yet does not name the murderers themselves, or assign them even a portion of the responsibility.
Adams Lays Blame
One would think, listening to Adams, that those men pulled the trigger themselves: “The blame lies with those in positions of power at gun companies. They profit from products that end up in the hands of criminals…cover up their role in the deaths of innocent victims…spend millions to mislead the public, create doubt, and shift blame. And at every turn, they block the industry reforms and legal solutions that could save lives.”
Let’s break that down, shall we? Adams says that gunmakers profit from gun sales. Yes, they do. Companies are in business to make a profit. Profitable companies produce goods that people want. Many people want firearms for myriad reasons. Hunting, sport shooting, competition, collecting, and, not least, self-defense thanks to New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s soft on crime policies. Adams doesn’t mention that.
Yes, guns do find their way to criminals. But according to the Justice Department, only ten percent of crime guns are bought legitimately, with seven percent coming from gun stores. The bad guys usually steal them or buy them from other criminals. So how exactly are gunmakers responsible for that?
This is all well-known. Former policeman Adams likely knows it too. It’s no coincidence that he is affiliated with gun control czar Michael Bloomberg through the latter’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG). The only problem is that MAIG only goes after legally owned firearms by trying to limit legitimate gun owners’ access to them.
Misdirection
Adams says firearms CEOs “cover up their role in the deaths of innocent victims.” Again, Adams seems to think gun companies sell their products on street corners for bags of cash. He fails to mention that the mass murders he employs in his narrative were carried out by people who passed the government-mandated background checks. Does he believe the aforementioned executives should conduct personal interviews with prospective buyers and check their social media first? It’s just an absurd allegation.
According to Adams, gunmakers expend massive resources to “mislead the public, create doubt, and shift blame.” That one is puzzling. I can only assume that the mayor is referring to those companies defending themselves against frivolous lawsuits and kangaroo court Congressional hearings. Honestly, that allegation sounds like Adams himself.
Adams: Do What You’re Told, Unconstitutional or Not
Finally, Adams complains that firearms manufacturers “block industry reforms and legal solutions that could save lives.” By “industry reforms,” Adams likely means “smart gun” technology that does not work and is vulnerable to hackers. Never mind that there’s no demand for it anyway.
He’s also talking about the industry’s response to the new frames and receivers rule that supposedly stamps out so-called “ghost guns.” He talks about that later in the speech, complaining that companies aren’t “cooperating in good faith” because they altered their practices to comply with the new rule. Adams apparently just wants them to shut their doors.
As far as the “legal solutions that save lives,” Adams is clearly referring to the draconian New York gun laws struck down by the Supreme Court’s recent Bruen decision. Never mind that those “solutions” are blatantly unconstitutional. Just like New York’s heavy-handed response to Bruen. Adam’s association with Bloomberg assures his callous regard for the Constitution.
Adams on the Media’s Role
“So many of you in the media have already done extraordinary work on the gun violence epidemic.” Indeed, they have. Who can forget the breathless commentary about the evils of “assault weapons” or the misinformed “experts” who are clearly anything but?
But Eric Adams wants more. Instead of focusing on the criminals or the victims, Adams wants the media to focus on the tool, name the firearm. He says every single news story involving gun crime should do “three important things:”
- One: Name the gun
- Two: Follow the money
- Three: Debunk the myths
Name the Gun
Once again, let’s look at that, point by point. One: Name the gun. Adams claims, rather extraordinarily, that news stories include “the shooter’s name, his age, his grievances, his background, his victims…What is often left out is the kind of weapon the shooter used and how he got it.” Maybe it’s just me, but I think His Honor the Mayor has it backward. The media always includes the name and usually a photo. The murderer’s grievances and background…well, that depends on how well they fit the narrative. You know this if you pay attention.
But Adams is just wrong. The gun is almost always mentioned, especially if it’s a scary “assault weapon.” But Adams wants to go further. He wants every story to include the manufacturer, model, and point of sale for every single gun used in a crime. It’s a clear attempt to shame gunmakers and gun retailers. Adams says that every story should point out who made the gun in question and name anyone profiting from its sale.
I wonder if Adams would include whether that gun was stolen or otherwise criminally trafficked? He doesn’t say, but I doubt it since he follows up by claiming that “Just like tobacco and opioids, those who profit avoid the spotlight and cover their tracks.” Perhaps he thinks gun companies “cover their tracks” by engineering gun thefts. Nothing would surprise me at this point.
The mayor says, “the gun industry has fought hard to shield itself from accountability.” That’s obviously another tired reference to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which says that gun companies can’t be sued when their products are used criminally or irresponsibly. Just like Ford can’t be sued when a drunk driver kills someone in an F-150. That’s a common nonsensical gun control talking point these days.
Follow the Money
“When gun crime is committed,” Adams drones on, “we need the name of the gun and how that gun was obtained by the shooter. Who looked the other way. Where it was bought and who profited from that sale.” “Who looked the other way.” Again, as if gun companies purposely pass out guns to criminals.
Adams seems to have either forgotten how criminals operate or he was a career NYPD bureaucrat. More likely, he’s feeding the Bloomberg narrative. Either way, criminals rarely buy their guns from gun stores or gun shows, and Adams knows it.
But that doesn’t deter Adams from saying “Guns don’t magically appear in the hands of shooters. They don’t fall from the sky or grow on trees. Guns are made and marketed with the express purpose of generating profit.” Well, duh, Eric Adams. Once again, companies operate to make a profit by providing products that customers want. They do not sell to known criminals, though it’s the government’s job to police that. Adams is clearly advancing the current narrative that gunmakers’ advertising is somehow responsible for mass murders.
Adams says that “We must go upstream in this river of violence. We must find the sources and dam each and every one up. That means investigating the supply chain, the players, the men behind the market. The gun manufacturers and distributors and their enablers must be named and shamed. Every CEO, every board member, every significant investor should have their name associated with the story of gun violence in America.”
So, basically, Adams wants to put gun companies out of business. Just like his mentor, Bloomberg. His plan also sounds like a libel lawyer’s dream. But, once again, no mention of his city’s outrageous hands-off policies regarding violent criminals. You’d think the gun industry has hit squads preying on innocent people for profit.
Debunk the Myths
Finally, the mayor trots out these “myths” told by the gun industry and pro-gun activists:
- “More Guns equals more safety.” Well, that depends on who has them, doesn’t it? Given New York City’s policies, it seems Adams wants the wrong people to have them.
- “There’s no point in gun laws because murderers will always find a way to kill.” How is that a myth? Either way, gun laws only affect responsible gun owners. On a side note, Adams characterizes himself as one of those responsible gun owners and claims they aren’t the problem. Funny how his policies directly target those very people, isn’t it?
- “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Again, how is that a myth? Someone else applying equal or greater violent force has stopped every violent actor throughout history. Every. Single. One. Whether it was a cop putting down a murderer or nations crushing entire criminal regimes like Hitler’s Germany, the good guy stopped the bad guy. Seriously, how else do you stop violent people? But the press must “debunk” that fact because it doesn’t fit the gun control narrative
Eric Adams’ Real Goal
Mayor Adams is correct that the media can inflict great damage on the gun industry. Few citizens look beyond any given story’s headline. And the media has largely become a group of activists, as opposed to actual journalists. Most are rabidly anti-gun and don’t mind slanting their stories that way.
Adams hopes to focus their efforts on his theme of “greed, corruption, and hypocrisy.” He says America doesn’t have a gun problem, but a greed problem. But that’s the typical line toward any industry that activists dislike. Adams touts New York City’s efforts to “expose the truth and stop the bloodshed.”
In reality, Adams is merely doing what he accuses gunmakers of: deflecting blame, covering up the truth of his city’s policies, and leaving the people defenseless against those policies’ consequences while he and Alvin Bragg have around-the-clock security. Just another example of politicians’ “greed, corruption, and hypocrisy.”
Adams closed by telling his National Press Club audience that “we need your help to educate the public and mobilize them for change.” In other words, the mayor wants media propaganda to push his anti-gun, soft-on-crime agenda. Looks like they’re already off to a bangin’ start.
