The Democrats’ effort to make storied American manufacturer Smith & Wesson the villain du jour in their jihad against the Second Amendment is stupid for any number of reasons, one of which is that the campaign is targeted specifically at AR-style rifles — and “Smith & Wesson” is hardly the first name that leaps to mind when one thinks of such firearms, although the firm, like almost every other firearms maker interested in turning a profit, manufactures the “modern sporting rifles” that are by far the most popular style of long gun sold in the United States. Instead, Smith & Wesson is best known for old-fashioned revolvers, like the Model 29 that I just happen to have right here.
As I will document in an upcoming magazine piece for National Review, Smith & Wesson — along with traditional rivals such as Ruger and dozens of less-famous companies around the country — is one of those rare birds for which politicians of both parties pray so fervently: an American manufacturing success story. Old domestic companies such as Smith & Wesson now compete for skilled workers with European firms that have shifted their manufacturing to the United States — these manufacturers are not coming here in search of cheap labor — as well as with dozens of innovative new U.S. companies. The market does indeed produce surprising results — at this year’s National Rifle Association meeting in Houston, I was tickled to see a sign reading: “Kalashnikov—Proudly Made in the USA!” Somewhere, the ghost of John Rambo is having a good laugh at that.
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