When storied handgun maker Glock capitulated to gun-ban zealots and redesigned its pistol design—one of the most popular in U.S. history—we knew it would only be a matter of time before other gunmakers were targeted.
Everytown Targets Ruger RXM Pistol
Well, it didn’t take long. On November 3, so-called Everytown for Gun Safety—a gun-ban organization that cares more about anti-gun laws than safety—sent a letter to Sturm, Ruger & Co. threatening company leaders if they don’t change the design on one of their popular handguns.
RXM In The Crosshairs
At issue is the Ruger RXM, a collaboration between Ruger and Magpul. The pistol has a design very similar to the Glock design, hence it can be illegally converted to fire full-auto. I say illegally, of course, because it is a federal felony to do so.
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Still, gun-ban groups like Everytown always focus on the firearm, not the felon. Hence their targeting of the RXM.
“Ruger claims to be a ‘model of corporate and community responsibility,’” the letter stated. “For that to be more than an empty promise, and for the reasons set forth more fully below, Ruger must pull the RXM from the market unless and until it changes the pistol’s design. We call on the company to do so immediately.”
After eight pages of rambling on about how the RXM can be converted to fire full-auto, by felon of course, Everytown finally got to the point.
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“Ruger faces a choice following Glock’s recent announcement: Will it continue to distribute and sell the RXM despite the evidence of its ease of convertibility to an illegal machine gun, or will it put public safety first?”
The letter concluded, “To ensure that Ruger does not exacerbate the alarming proliferation of deadly DIY machine guns across American cities and states, we urge you to take the only responsible course of action and remove the Ruger RXM from the market unless and until you change the pistol’s design.”
States Get In On The Act
Of course, anti-gun state leaders were quick to jump on the latest target of gun-ban advocates.
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On November 10, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong wrote a letter to Ruger warning company leaders of possible legal action if they didn’t scrap or redesign the RXM.
“If the RXM can be easily converted to a machine gun by the attachment of a (machine gun conversion device), and videos my Office has seen indicate that it can, Ruger’s pursuit of profits over safety may be in violation of FIRA and CUTPA,” Tong wrote, referring to the state’s Firearms Industry Responsibility Act and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Ultimately, AG Tong requested a statement from Ruger regarding its plans for the RXM pistol and ordered the company to preserve documents related to conversions, violent crimes involving converted weapons, marketing materials, financial information and the company’s awareness of its legal responsibilities.
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What’s Next
Whether or not Ruger will capitulate to Everytown’s and Tong’s threatening letters and redesign the RXM remains to be seen. If they do, it’s a sure bet there’s already another pistol on the gun-banners’ radar that they will target next.
