Optics Planet, the Northbrook, IL company that employs 1600+ with sales of over $261M just shot themselves in the foot. With an email, they've cancelled orders for full capacity magazines to civilians otherwise legal to purchase them. In the email, they cite a recent policy change, saying they no longer sell mags over 10 rounds to the general public.
The Truth About Guns tied the suspiciously timed change in policy to the gun free zone school massacre in Florida last week. In response, Optics Planet released this statement. We've parsed it.
When there’s smoke, there’s often fire. But sometimes – smoke is just smoke.
Something's burning to create smoke. Maybe that's not how it happens in Mother Russia, where founder Mark Levitin emigrated from, but that's how it is here in the US of A.
We fully understand how the email featured in the article on The Truth About Guns suggests that we may have made a decision to limit the sales of magazines over 10 rounds due to the recent tragedy in Parkland, Florida. Before we go any further, we want to make it clear that our condolences go to the families of all of the victims, and that our hearts go out to a community trying to recover after a senseless event.
At OpticsPlanet, we have never used the inflamed tensions and emotions of current events to drive decision making. Our support of the 2nd amendment is made undeniably clear by the products we offer. We are one of the few online retailers who never stopped offering completely legal products such as bump stocks or binary triggers, when many did. We do not raise prices during frenzies. We do, however, follow the laws and make adjustments when legally required.
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it probably isn't a…
In this case, insufficient internal communication led to a misread message. We are not offering magazines with capacities greater than 10 rounds to the general public due to our location in Northbrook, Illinois, and local laws that limit our ability to sell these. Being an internet retailer serving fifty states can be complex at times, and frankly, our location in Illinois only adds to this complexity. We may not always like the law, but we need to follow it.
We own up to the fact that we did not explain this well internally, which led to an unclear message given to the customer, but we can completely repudiate any notion that this is a reaction to any recent event or the political climate. Unfortunately, our loyal customer base is best served by purchasing their magazines from retailers in “free” states. This issue is currently out of our hands. We’re committed to working hard to retain your business for everything else you need.
It’s unfortunate that this issue has created so much confusion, and we apologize for not providing clearer messaging in the first place. We continue to support our passionate customer community as we have for the past eighteen years in every way we can.
They cite a Cook County ordinance that only applies to unincorporated areas of Cook County. If it applied across Cook County as "recently changed policy" Optics Planet suggests, then
Midwest Shooting Sports in Lyons, IL
Point Blank Range and Gunshop in Hodgkins, IL
Cabelas in Hoffman Estates
Blackhawk in Alsip
Freddy Bear Sports in Tinley
Eagle Sports in Oak Forest
Maxon's in DesPlaines
… to name a few
These businesses could not sell modern sporting rifles or full capacity magazines. Or rent them.
No, a more likely explanation is that Optics Planet is in CYA mode, trying to defer to a higher authority in their ham-handed attempt to not own up to their own unilateral decision not to sell standard capacity magazines to the "general public".
Well, guess what Mark, and Pavel, and the rest of the Optics Planet crew: The "General Public" can unilaterally buy stuff elsewhere.
Pro-gun advocacy has never been easier.
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