While the US is experiencing another wave of infections, the gun lobby organization NRA wants to hold a large conference. The first weapons manufacturers are drawing conclusions.
Frankfurt a. M. – There are enough occasions for US arms manufacturers to take part in the upcoming annual meeting of the gun lobby organization NRA: The National Rifle Association is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, and the meeting planned for last year had to be canceled due to corona. Not only did this mean that an opportunity to maintain the network was lost, but it was also not possible to present the new products to the audience, some of which were crazy about guns. After the first corona waves, which had a drastic economic impact, they now want to boost sales again. However, the conditions for this seem to be unfavorable again this year.
According to a report by the US online medium The Daily Beast, some companies that are otherwise present as exhibitors at the lobby meeting have already announced that they will be staying away from the event in Texas. These include companies such as Benelli USA, Browning, FN Herstal, Kimber Manufacturing, Savage Arms, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory, Sig Sauer and Sturm, Ruger & Company. This would have been explained by people familiar with internal company matters to The Daily Beast.
USA: Arms manufacturers want to stay away from major industry meetings – concerns about Corona
The Italian company Beretta and the German gunsmith Heckler & Koch have not yet canceled, but they are only waiting for the NRA, as the organizer, to cancel the event itself – they want to avoid disturbing the truce of the gun enthusiast scene, so the speculation in The Daily Beast. Two ammunition manufacturers and a clothing company also seem to want to stay away from the fair. The clothing manufacturer 5.11 Tactical justifies its decision that they are concerned about the “health and well-being of our employees, customers and partners”. The concerns of other companies in the industry that were communicated in the background sound similar.
The US is experiencing another wave of corona infections. According to the Johns Hopkins University, the nationwide seven-day incidence is currently more than 300. The more dangerous delta variant has long dominated the infection process here as well.
Gun lobby organization NRA wants to hold annual meeting in attendance – exhibitors are withdrawing
The annual meeting has regularly attracted more than 70,000 visitors in recent years, according to The Daily Beast. With the change of the Republican Party under the former US President Donald Trump, there has been an increasing dovetailing of the gun lobby, fans and the politically conservative spectrum in recent years. The media company Newsmax wants to be the only major media company to have a booth at the meeting in Texas. Already after the 2020 US election, the station attracted attention with misleading and manipulative reporting in line with Trump’s fraud fairy tale. (mp)
