As we reported this morning, Andy Raymond, CEO of Engagement Armament LLC, changed his mind about selling the Armatix iP1 “smart gun” after receiving death threats. Last night, he posted the following open letter on his Facebook page. Click here to see his video message. Note: drinking and making PR statements is not a great combination. [h/t CL]
Hey Guys,
Its me Andy. Ive been drinking so bear with me. I didn’t do this for any money. Ive never been compensated by Armatix. I havent even cashed any of my draws in 3 months so this business can survive. Not your problem though. I didnt do this for the money. Anyone who says so can go fuck themselves. I haven’t any money. I live in some shit condo in Silver Spring . . .
You call me and email me and threaten my life? You come at me, my girlfriend, or my god damned DOG I will put one in your dome. I promise you.
Maybe I got mislead about this. Its still my responsibility. Maybe I was fed some not-so-true info. It was still my responsibility. I stood, I tried to stand on the ideal that we could get some fence sitters and anti gunners into our fold. Maybe Im either too young or too old to realize thats not sturdy enough.
I never sold the gun. I dont stock the fucking gun. Ive never even been paid by Armatix.
If it saves my business partner Carlos or my employees their job I will quit. It wasnt their decision. It was mine to agree to the interviews. They shouldnt pay for something I did. Thats that.
You want my head come and take it. Dont dare hurt anyone associated with me or my dog. I will take everything you took for me in kind. That I promise you.
much ado about nuttin. I would stand with this “gentleman”.
Then you stand with an idiot.
At 6:46 he says clearly that he didn’t even realize that he was going to be the idiot to trigger the NJ law. He thought the trigger was already pulled. He’s a clueless lunkhead apparently running a shop full of clueless employees who also were not aware to the facts.
So now I see other posts saying that he is quoted as being fully aware that he’d be the trigger. Ok so now he’s just a lying sack of crap AND an idiot.
The fuse might already be lit on NJ.
I don’t know the details of the NJ law, but my impression – from the last time thia came up – was that the clock started ticking when the first one was offered for sale, not after three years of continuous availability.
Either way, given any ambiguity (or even none) can you see the NJ pols going for any interpretation other than the one that would let them curtail sales sooner rather than later? Barring serious changes in 2016, of course.
The NJ pols have no leg to stand on if they claim the gun was available for sale. You can be darn certain the CA store and this guy would say that they never were for sale.
The NJ law is three years after it is “deemed commercially available for sale.” That is super ambiguous, and gives the NJ Atty General the ability to interpret as he sees fit. Technically, it is commercially available for sale, because it is available for dealers to sell. Just because one hasn’t been sold doesn’t matter.
People are focusing on the wrong side of the problem here. The gun and the technology aren’t the enemy here, the stupid NJ law is. That’s what we should be pissed about. Who are we to tell someone what guns they should and shouldn’t be allowed to sell or buy? I thought we were supposed to be pro gun rights?
Its commercially available for sale. The fact that stores aren’t buying them to sell to customers is irrelevant. Bring on the great Jersey gun prohibition, see how long that holds up in court.
The “great NJ gun prohibition” has been in place for decades, ever since carrying was effectively banned and every other gun activity was regulated nearly to death. And yet the courts haven’t done anything about it.
The courts are not our salvation. They will not vindicate our natural and Constitutional rights with regard to guns and knives any more than they have done in other matters. Only we can protect our rights through our own efforts. We should fight in the courts, but everywhere else, too.
We still need to go through the motions. Let the courts say its Constitutional. Let the Supreme Court say its a tax and legal. Then maybe people will really see where everyone really stands in this country.
LMAO… I could care less what gets “triggered” in NJ. The people of NJ can deal with their laws and politicians as they see fit.
I just can’t see this law passing the courts. What’s next? “In three years all cars sold in the US must be a Chevy Volt”.
I am not against boycotts of retailers and I disregard the argument that the smart gun “will bring new shooters into the fold”. But I am curious to see the NJ law play out. What if within that 3 year period, the gun fails so badly that it has to be recalled? I think the whole mess is a money making venture for the key players under the guise of safety. I can’t see this ever working out the way the Antis claim.
I say sell the thing, trigger the law, send it to the courts and make it a hot-button issue for the 2014 elections in NJ and across the nation. In my estimation, there is not going to be a better time than the present with all of the anti-Anti sentiment.
So what if he “triggered the law”? If he didn’t do it, someone else would. it’s not like the entire concept of a “smart” (probably more like unusually stupid at this time) gun is complete bunk. Lots of people “prep” for home invasions by stacking guns all over the house, easily accessible. If a “smart” gun ever got to the point of working as reliably as a “perfect” gun (Glock 🙂 ), then I’d certainly prefer the first 4 or five guns the home invader got to before engaging me being “smart” versus “perfect.”
The only way to sort out what is good and what is bad, is to have it all slugged out in a competitive market place. If “smart” gun tech has merit in some application, they should be available for those applications.
Retarded laws written and enforced by retarded subhumans in retarded locales in retarded societies don’t change that universal fact. The laws has to go. Whether by vote, revolution or homemade toxins and IEDs. Simply by engaging the oppressors in this silly dance of attempting to work around invalid laws, we are accepting that such laws, as well as the means by which they came to be, are in some ways valid. And that our only acceptable means of dealing with them, is to play by their rules. Which is quite obviously false.
SO? Trigger the law! Challenge the law in court. Why is it his problem? He’s selling a legal item, legally, to law abiding citizens. You oppose it because you disagree with the product, making you a hypocrite.
No problem with him either. If you are willing to send death threats to him because he would sell the smart gun (and because of lawmakers ruin it for the rest of us) then you should also send death threats to gun owners, because at any point they can ruin it for the rest of us. Or maybe even the lawmakers.
“If you are willing to send death threats to him because he would sell the smart gun (and because of lawmakers ruin it for the rest of us) then you should also send death threats to LAW MAKERS”
FTFY
With friends like you and him who needs anti-gunners.
I will bet my entire life savings this guy has received not a SINGLE threat. He is doing this to get in the news, and to make anyone that opposes “smart guns” seem like a violent maniac. You guys know the media constantly lies, why do you believe them on this bull? He knows this shit won’t sell to anyone but government, so he is trying to control the narrative, don’t let them deceive you!
What’s in the bottle? The label piqued my interests.
Off the top of my head I’d say “Stupid.”
Now that’s funny!
I notice he’s drinking it out of a disposable mouthwash cup, so I assume (hope) it’s nothing too spendy that he’s wasting.
Based on the picture alone, it looks like he’s drinking whiskey from a plastic mouthwash cup, water from a shot glass, and using his iphone as an ashtray.
It’s a rye called 1776, actually an old recipe restored by descendants of the original maker. It goes for about $30 and I’d say it’s a little underpriced given its smoothness (although it’s a bit on the sweet side for my taste).
Or it may be the bourbon by the same maker.
http://www.jamesepepper.com/home.php
Good eye, thanks! And for the opinion too, I’ll have to check it out.
Blue Falcon, of the highest order.
He’s got a cig in his hand right by the sig sign……
It looks more like a joint. Seriously, this “death threat” thing seems to be the best thing that ever happened to Engagement Armament. Free advertising and all.
+1, Now I am wondering if this whole thing was for PR… An drunken apology/come at me bro video with liquor, guns, and cigarettes is a heck of an attention getter. I would forgive him if I was ever upset with him for selling the dumb gun.
Yeah, my BS sensor is beginning to alarm.
He should sell it. F*** New Jersey. This is their law, they own it. Leave it to statists to try to impose their problems on the rest of the country. Jersey ain’t Cali. They don’t drive the market, and the fact that they can’t own guns shouldn’t put the market hostage to their slavery.
Just because he CAN sell it doesn’t mean he SHOULD sell it. Like you said New Jersey doesn’t drive the market but the eight million gun owners in California do help shape the market. Once this ball gets rolling how long until California makes crap like this mandatory and those eight million prospective customers are enough to entice some of the bigger manufacturers to start chasing that market with this garbage?
Yes it is fun to say “%$*%! Cali too because there stoopid heads and should move if they don’t like it!” That ignores the fact that even though we may be 50 states as gun buyers we are all in part the same market. We need to make sure this infection does not get started anywhere in the market because as we have seen the drive for the dollar will override principle more often than not and we do not want this product getting market share enough that the dollars are attractive to anyone. Think big picture here.
Cali already has his axe hanging over their head with microstamping. Both laws need to go in place and be fought in the court and ballot box as the defacto bans they are. Pushing it off without repealing it isn’t a solution, and bullying FFL’s who probably see this the same way isn’t either. If I had an FFL I’d sell this thing just to get the ball rolling. Jersey trying to hide from their legislative slavery by bullying FFL’s into banning *gun technology advances* (2nd amendment covering muskets only anyone?) is hypocritical and disgusting and I am ashamed of them.
B you’re an idiot if you think this smart gun crap doesn’t hurt anyone. It’s not about the NJ law, it’s about all of the states. You set a precedent, and next thing you know it’s affecting everyone. We’ve got 2 more years of Democratic leadership, and the way things are going we are going to end up with Hillary for at least 4 more and probably 8. Don’t give them even one inch, because it always starts somewhere. If you sell this thing, you should go out of business.
I think you are an idiot if you believe New Jersey can sit on this unconstitutional law forever. Its going to trigger, or it has already been triggered. The law has to be fought, and it should go to the courts as soon as possible to try to beat the inevitable Supreme Court refresh.
Read the context people: I’m not saying f*** Jersey because it doesn’t affect me, I’m saying f*** coddling Jersey and force them to lie in their sh** and fight this crap before it spreads.
I live in NJ and I agree with you. This is not his or any other state’s fault. The people of NJ by and large want gun control. Us pro-gun folk in Jersey are quite simply the (generally) educated minority. It astonishes me that people are threatening this man for partaking in the free market. He has no hand in NJ legislation.
What’s in the bottle? Hopes and dreams. That’s what’s in every bottle.
I like the cut of this mans jib
Did he just answer death threats with a death threat in return?
The only thing that stops a death threat from a bad guy is a good guy with a death threat. With a bottle of hooch.
If I may quote Arnold Schwartzenegger ” that’s a good one”
Strong words… strong, confusing words.
I will bet my entire life savings this guy has received not a SINGLE threat. He is doing this to get in the news, and to make anyone that opposes “smart guns” seem like a violent maniac. You guys know the media constantly lies, why do you believe them on this bull? He knows this shit won’t sell to anyone but government, so he is trying to control the narrative, don’t let them deceive you!
This is embarrassing. I thought it was the other side that threatened people and destroyed their business and reputation over politics.
One more time, so everyone (hopefully) gets it — “smart guns” are a product. It’s this guy’s right to retail it, and yours and mine to buy it, or not, for our own reasons. It has nothing to do with whether some government later decides to ban non-smart guns.
Keep your powder dry for that day, and stop making us all look bad with this eat-your-own BS
Fully agree. It is insane to think that we can keep “smart” guns from hitting the marketplace. Someone will eventually sell this firearm, even if Bloomberg has to get his own FFL.
Well, there’s a chilling thought. I’m surprised it’s not already being done.
I’m in this camp as well.
Thank you for that, I feel the same way.
exactly, let this toy stopwatch gun get out in the market and fail miserably for all the world to see. As it is, the response of a POTG is just disgusting. Threatening to kill people, and behaving like a bunch of petulant middle school kids.
All the Armatix people and left leaning gun grabbers can just sit their and say stuff like “oh all the gun nuts dont want our product because they dont want a gun that is smarter than they are… etc etc…” and as long as we keep acting like neanderthals and attacking our own people for something like this, we do nothing to prove them wrong.
Let them sell this pistol, let it be a spectacular failure, then fight the laws in court after it is proven the smart gun is a shiny plastic turd.
Imagine the political advantage we would have right now if Ted Cruz had kept his trap shut and let the budget pass without shutting the government down. The first two weeks of Obamacare were the worst and nearly got a complete free pass from the media because the press had so much material to cover while our legislators fought like little children attacking their own team during the post shutdown chaos in Washington.
We need to wake up and get smart and force the antis to show their true face rather then giving them a free target and gun to shoot us with, by fighting among ourselves.
“Imagine the political advantage we would have right now if Ted Cruz had kept his trap shut and let the budget pass without shutting the government down. The first two weeks of Obamacare were the worst and nearly got a complete free pass from the media because the press had so much material to cover while our legislators fought like little children attacking their own team during the post shutdown chaos in Washington.”
You give the press too much credit. They are still giving Obamacare a pass, because instead of attacking the meat of the 2000+ trainwreck and the infeasibility of the taxes, penalties, fees and implementation of the law, they go after a stupid website that will eventually get fixed (badly) after spending millions of dollars on it. The press is not going to cede the modern left-wing any advantage period, so stop assuming anything can be done with it. The faster we all understand the press is practically working against us, the better off we will be in formulating an actual strategy, instead of hoping they will come to our aid.
Oh and as for this article, let the guys sell it. It’s a legal product and NJ is the culprit for trying to mandate it. The real ire should be saved for the law and politicians who passed it.
Stacy, to be honest, this probably started with a few internet tough guys, and expanded into copycats who want to have some fun on the internet by jumping on the bandwagon. Essentially, trolling.
Stuff like the 7N6 pistol, that was… a bit stupid, because they knew it’d result in federal action based on a law that hasn’t moved in several decades. You can bet if the NJ law kicked in, the remaining people of NJ would react, and I’d hope, set an example for the rest of the country.
People on the internet like to troll, and they’re essentially trolling this guy. I’m sure none of them would actually get off of their ass donuts to actually carry any of this out.
If NJ is going to set this law in motion due to the Armatix pistol, they’re going to do it. They’re not going to wait for some guy to have one cross the counter. They may already even consider Armatix being willing to sell in the US as it being ‘available for sale’. And there’s also nothing keeping Armatix from selling it directly – which will probably happen soon enough.
If people want to threaten the guy’s business with no-business, fine. The death threats though are just over the top and stupid. And hot air. And the POTG should condemn them, because yeah , that’s not how we operate.
Big talk, but he still backed down.
Mission accomplished!
He just reinforced death threats as a tactic.
I don’t know why he is even giving any credibility to the threats. I think he is just a hot headed yankee asshole. If 0.001 percent of threats were actually carried out, the CDC would have to update the data to show a new #1 cause of death in this country.
Hot air from both sides.
calling Marylanders “yankees” now? sad
This is nothing but a bunch of self pity and rationalizations. If someone made death threats, contact the police. Done.
Someone took this staged photo to show how “distraught” he is – it’s all an act.
I don’t care if he sells that thing or not but to say this was some huge surprise to him is either evidence of not thinking this through at all or bs.
Smells of P S.
Unfortunate this guy appears to have been threatened over selling “smart” guns. There really is no reason for that. The biggest threat to freedom that these guns pose is in places that will require them once the technology is available. Otherwise this technology will make firearms too expensive and they will flop. If you let the markets drive the products, these things won’t last three years on the market before they disappear. The fix is really to get rid of the laws and legislators requiring firearms with this “smart” technology. We shouldn’t be eating or own over this.
Agreed we need to scrap the laws as the permanent fix to this issue. In the mean time FFLs need to not sell this crap in any state because it is getting the camels nose under the tent for the bigger issues. The people threatening his life have overstepped. The better response, if you must contact him from outside his customer base, is an expression of disappointment that he is feeding the other side in a nationwide political and culture war. If contacting him from inside his customer base walk in, ask to speak with him, and explain that for as long as he sells/stocks these guns you will not spend a single penny there but as soon as he stops then he can be assured of you renewed business.
Yep. Agree. He would come around after his business takes a hit in the bottom line.
We do need to fight the laws but why does that mean we abandon short term battles along the way. I say hit them every time they let down their guard.
I agree, force it out into the light of day, let it fail spectacularly, and publicly. Force the company owner to defend this joke. Let the market put them down in bankruptcy.
Nooooo… we need to boycott the gun store owner, trash his life, ruin his business, and give the antis all the ammo they need to portray us as a bunch of zoo animals fighting with each other.
Collateral damage.
You do realize the bulk of his business is building “prohibited weapons” in MD.
You don’t think these stupid laws can drive markets?
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/02/matt-in-fl/daily-digest-210/
His dog? Is the NYPD after him?
What’s next, a smart car? Piss in the cup holder before it will start? Let them try to sell them. The market will take care of it.
This guy is obviously a couple of cards short of a full deck.
You realize that there are actually “ignition interlock” devices that require you to give a breath sample before you can start your car, right? If MADD was as powerful as some folks think, they would probably be standard equipment.
Hey fatboy, put down your bottle and hit the gym. Work out some of that angst bro.
Let’s be honest… there are no *shit* condos in Silver Springs… 😉
Wrong. There are. Tons. And it is Silver Spring, btw.
It can be either Silver Spring or Silver Springs. Search WaPo for the relevant Sunday magazine article from several years ago. And stay on topic.
there are, silver spring is a big place
And the majority of it was built in the 60’s and 70’s, when bad architecture was all the rage.
Eh, he shouldn’t be threatened. Then again, they shouldn’t have created that law. Sucks all around. In the end, he’s a right to live and defend himself. Hopefully he doesn’t have to.
I don’t understand the devotion to an animal that plays in its own poop sometimes.
Spend 10 minutes with a Weimaraner and you’ll get it.
What is really beginning to piss me off is that some of our “brothers” or “sisters” resort to the very tactics that give the antis more grist for the propaganda mills. Now I did think that maybe, just maybe, the people who called and threatened this man’s LIFE may have been anti provocateurs. After seeing some of these over the top quotes here, I’m not so sure. Get a LIFE people. The man has a right to make a living. If he chooses to sell something we don’t like, don’t buy the damned thing! It’s called “the market”. /rant off
Amen!
He *claims* he got death threats. And the video is “unavailable.” I sense face-saving BS.
I have to admit, I had similar thoughts. It’s possible, and it’s possible Shannon gets death threats. But I personally am not believing it just on their say-so.
I will bet my entire life savings this guy has received not a SINGLE threat. He is doing this to get in the news, and to make anyone that opposes “smart guns” seem like a violent maniac. You guys know the media constantly lies, why do you believe them on this bull? He knows this shit won’t sell to anyone but government, so he is trying to control the narrative, don’t let them deceive you!
“Maybe I got mislead about this”
Really? Because in your interview you knew exactly what this would mean for the people of NJ and the backlash that you’d get. I think realizing that he might honestly go out of business inspired a change of heart, but he can’t just say he screwed up.
Hey, you’re back!
Anyway…to your comment: Or, maybe it is all a publicity stunt? I don’t know, but that’s a thought I had.
There is no way on this planet a gun store owner that is also active in gun rights activism “did not know” this decision would cause a backlash.
Are the death threats real? Real as in…did they happen OR are they coming from the anti-gun crowd? Who knows. The real question is…if he got death threats, did he report them to the cops or not?
If not, then he’s no better than Shannon Watts and her claims of stalking and harassment and threats. If no, he’s no better than that guy in CT that claimed to have gotten death threats for helping children after the shooting, though he did not file a police report and FIRST “reported” it on salon.com of all places.
Stalking, making threats, etc…these things are crimes. If the victims are not reporting them and letting it be investigated, I have a hard time believing it it really happened. That’s just me.
I live in The People’s Republic of New Jersey and I emailed the guy saying he SHOULD sell it. Death threats? What the hell is wrong with some of you? Are you kidding me? It is NOT his fault that NJ voters vote in criminal politicians who enact ridiculous legislation. How dare people threaten him or his family! Way to play right into the hands of the gun control groups. Gun nuts indeed. Idiots.
*This is directed at those who made the threats or who don’t care that he received the threats.
The TTAG armed intelligensia are a funny bunch.
When a gun owner does something stupid, like exercising his right to walk down the street with an AR-15 over his shoulder to “raise awareness,” the comments will fill up with people supporting him.
When a gun shop owner does something stupid, like exercising his right to sell an overpriced, small caliber gun with dubious, unproven technology for self-defense, in this free market economy we call the United States, he gets insults and threats.
Go figure.
Common sense supports the AR15 and open carry over the Smart Gun.
There…does that help you understand POTG better?
I support him, the gun should be sold. He puts it up, I might buy the dang thing. New Jerseyians should lie in the bed they’ve made. If they want to fight it, that would be nice.
This guy’s little stunt just backfired is all. He’s running a weak business in a dying market, so he threw a Hail Mary pass. He simply underestimated the response he’d get. He figured since he was the second one to go for it, that he’d be able to pull it off with minimal blowback, while still reaping much of the monetary rewards. Well.
He miscalculated. I don’t know whether he received any threats. My guess is, he probably did. After all, this is a country where idiots will threaten their schools on their own FaceBook pages or call 911 to order a pizza. Idiots abound, so I’m not taking any bets against their foolishness. That said, I’m sure 99.9 of it all is B.S. late night drunken ramblings, just like this guy’s own response, interestingly enough. I would bet that the vast majority of whatever feedback he did endure was just highly negative and far more forceful, though not illegal, than anything he’s ever personally experienced.
These types of media brouhahas can be quite jarring if you’ve never seen anything like it up close and personal, which he hadn’t. So now he’s backpedalling on this stunt. Don’t believe for a second, however, that it was ever anything but a stunt or that it he’s backing away now because he’s genuinely acting to protect his employees, partners, or his dog. That’s all just smoke and mirrors to allow him not only to save face, but to double down on the publicity in hopes of stirring up some business.
Did you hear what he makes? $800 a week and he hasn’t cashed a check in 3 months. Folks, the gun business is cutthroat. He was finding a way to diversify and expand his customer base (much like it was suggested the NRA should do). Don’t punish him for NJ’s laws. Makes you appreciate the crap Firearm Concierge puts up with, doesn’t it?
I do take issue with his strong suggestion that we should kill the politicians and the fact he’s drinking with guns. Both are wrong.
The gun business is cutthroat. All the more reason to not frag your own reputation by doing something stupid that you know is going to result in a huge negative backlash.
As I said about the original brouhaha with the California shop, this guy is either an idiot or a turd. Neither are the kind of people I choose to buy guns from. I don’t care if he sells this product or not (NJ’s laws are a problem for New Jersians to solve), it’s the poor decision-making that makes me question whether I’d want to do business with him.
To the guy asking about the bottle. It looks like a James Pepper 1776 rye whiskey bottle.
A fine choice indeed but did he chase tequila with it?
Notice the shot glass with the lime. That might have been for the cameraman.
In this day and age of electronic tracking if what this man says is true he should present the proof. Same goes for Watts.
The cost alone of the smart gun would be its eventual demise no need to threaten anyone.
It was a rerouted phone call that identified the call coming from a Yeager, James.
Que Paul T. McCain in 3..2…1…
People of the gun are giving death threats to a man who would sell a smart gun because they are afraid the government and the politicians will enact laws around the new technology. You should be making calls to your representatives to voice your opinion against the technology. Then you should not buy the smart guns, and let capitalism prevail.
One person should buy one, just to make sure the law gets triggered. Get rid of the ambiguity afforded to the AG. Its absolutely delusional that Jersians believe they can just hide forever from this insane law they passed nearly 12 years ago and have failed to repeal every year since.
Well, on me, the message was lost in all the flash and bang.
Lost on method & mode alone.
*always* sleep on an angry response, before pressing the “send” button.
My guess is the whole thing was done just for publicity.
He “agreed” to carry the gun, only to drop it right away.
I wondered that as well.
Sometimes, I hate being that cynical, but I’m having a bit of trouble accepting that someone in his position (active in gun rights in MD) could not foresee the response he got.
Yeah, I don’t buy it. Or, worse, I think we get the other sides’ astroturf that comes out of the woodwork and makes death threats claiming to be gun people.
“If you carry this Smart Gun, I’m coming at you with my military-grade assault weapon of war with a bunch of 30 caliber high capacity magazine clips like a wreeeeeecking ball! Go Nascar!”
That is not such a farfetched suspicion. Fits their TTPs closely.
Gun owners are their own worst enemies.
Sometimes I am downright embarrassed to be associated with some of the mouth breathing gun owners like the one threatening this store owner.
Perhaps you shouldn’t accept the liberal progressive media reports – and the word of this man – that death threats were actually issued. I’ve been on the receiving end of of death threats. It’s really not that bad. As is the case with politicians, 99% of death threats are BS. I’m still here, and the bad guys (well guys) went to jail. George Zimmerman has had all sorts of death threats. I’m sure he’ll get pulled over again sometime soon as well. Since I work in LA, the bad guys were soon released. So carrying a gun virtually all of the time makes sense to me.
Being pissed that technology that can be created is created and put on the market is tremendously stupid. If you don’t like the law, it’s the law you need to object to. Progress marches on and whether or not you like it, what can be done will be done. Same principle that applies to the kid with the 3-d printer trying to make functional guns. If you can’t accept the logic when it goes against your preferences you’re not thinking clearly. You don’t have to support it or buy it, but threats or boycotts are very, deeply stupid.
It is a God-given right to be tremendously stupid.
There is a human element in the free market equasion. Good thing too because there are artificial elements affecting the market. A boycott is freedom, a mandate is tyrany.
The devils advocate in me says that maybe this was a good thing. Have you ever heard the saying, “the quickest way to get rid of a bad law is to enforce it”? No sympathy for this guy, if he goes out of business, it’s because he brought it on himself. Just saying that maybe, just maybe, it’s not such a bad thing to bring the confrontation to a head.
I’ve been saying that about the CT thing for months.
(Not in terms of people starting a shooting war, but in terms of the state enforcing the law and letting it get into the court system….they want it “illegal” and “untested”).
he said we should kill politicians ya ……… umm the next james yeager
I don’t believe him. I believe he got some emails telling how stupid he was or that he was some kind of traitor and he’s since overdramatized it into “death threats”.
+1
His video reminds me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTl1asCDOgs
Methinks he doth protest too much.
Death threats only add fuel to the fire. Internet gorillas beating chests, e-alphas venting vitriolic frustration.
His choice was to sell a product. My thoughts were this was just a marketing ploy. Turns out just a bad decision. One easily corrected by telling the guy, thanks for playing into their lies (lie being “we need smart guns” when in actuality the truth is “we need no guns”) because a smart gun isn’t going to change any fence sitters mind and I will not be giving you any business.
I’ve said before, that owning a gun doesn’t necessarily make you a 2A supporter, friend, someone I would associate with or a “good ” guy. I have to add that being an FFL and gun store owner doesn’t guarantee you have an IQ above 50 . This gentleman proves it. Ignorant, arrogant and drunk. Lovely combo.
Crap like this is what pisses me off about the gun rights community. Some people in our ranks are real dumb asses. You’re going to threaten a gun shop owner for selling a product that keeps himself in business and may actually be a viable product!?!?!? That’s the dumbest crap I’ve ever heard. No wonder conservatives can’t win a white house, they cut off their noses to spite their face at every chance (Tea Party).
Cut this guy some slack. If half the people that threatened this guy would actually become a legislative advocate in NJ (i.e. get some decent legislators elected, get this law repealed, take your state back for pete’s sake) then this problem wouldn’t exist. Don’t blame the man, blame this dumb ass law.
F this guy and I hope his business fails.
It seems like Armatix is playing a game here. If they were serious about selling this crap, they’d have pulled their own FFL and sold it on the internet.
it seems more like a publicity stunt to make gun owners look horrible and terrible people than anything, and its kinda working.
Here is something nobody has mentioned, If this gun is so smart and so safe, why does it require a background check and an FFL dealer? You should be able to get one at the Apple Store.
Excellent point. And why not sell Safe Guns at airports in the Best Buy automated dispensers?
wait, aint it illegal to smoke indoors in the communist states above the mason dixon line?
wait what? This is MD… We’z below the M-D line.
And it’s a private business that’s not a restaurant or bar and was closed at the time the video was made.
I don’t believe you’re allowed to smoke anywhere in MOCO (Maryland’s answer to North Korea).
I wonder if these threats would satisfy the justifiable need to get a concealed carry permit in MD. Who am I kidding, it’d still be denied.
Ha! Exactly. There is no such thing as justifiable need in the “minds” of the people who wrote that “law.”
The only acceptable proof of “Justifiable Need” is to be shot dead in the street.
See how well that works?
Indeed, indeed. All power to the criminals and the bureaucrats (but I repeat myself).
What a blubbering baby. Sounds like something went awry with the project/product and he’s using this as an excuse to cut his losses and gain attention.
average bourbon, from a plastic starbucks shot cup and marlboros? need we say more?
Not everyone can afford Blanton’s bourbon.
And what’s wrong with Marlboros?
LMAO. HOLY SMOLEY…I watched the whole video he posted. It is hysterically funny. This guy is great.
Around 7:50 he nearly goes off the deep end and starts threatening politicians. Then his battery dies. He comes back and he is all mellowed out. Then in the last 30 seconds he walks away, then returns to the camera view. He delivers this “and by the way I know I’m fat”….and a riff on his girlfriend cutting his hair. That alone is worth giving up 12 minutes of your life for..!!! I’ve changed my opinion on Andy boy. I want him to run for some Maryland political office !!! Maybe Governor ? Senate ?
FYI, the WaPo vid is only about three minutes long. Heavily edited to avoid losing the image, but still captures the WaPo essence (i.e., foul-mouthed blue collar ignoramus, just like all the other uncouth gun owners. And he’s smoking! And he’s drinking!).
Andy has a knot in his panties. Time to send Andy some Vagasil.
The term “useful idiot” comes to mind.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I wonder what stupid prizes he will win for telling people to shoot politicians in the streets.
He should sell all kinds of smart guns with a “Law Enforcement Only” disclaimer. Not his fault the people of NJ allow the jackasses in Trenton push this stuff.
Case law has been settled by SCOTUS, it’s called the Affordable Care Act. Expect increased ammo shortages
So when is this guy’s off Broadway show starting?
Is this like blaming the rape victim because she wore skinny jeans which made her ass look too good?
The rapists, I mean legislators are the ones responsible for this. If we can’t beat this on electorial or judicial grounds we have a problem anyway. If we were strong, we would go out of our way to get this thing on the market so we could smash it in the courts or remove the rapists at the ballot box.
We are putting energy into trying to stop the trigger from being pulled but we really should be working on removing the cartridge from the chamber.
I think most people who wear skinny jeans belong in jail. I’m being quite reasonable. A less charitable person than I might recommend execution. I do agree that rape is an inappropriate response. Let the punishment fit the crime.
Engage Armament. Not Engagement.
http://www.engagearmament.com/
You guys really need an editor.
Soon to be renamed “Going Out of Business Sale.” That stunt was his swan song.
As long as the threats involve shooting this dumb spaz with a “smart” gun, I’d say he was fairly safe.
The dude can afford Marlboro Lights? This strikes me as suspicious.
I don’t CARE what happens to this mope. Support him if you want to. All those damning New Jersey sound remarkably like all the naysayers I heard for years about Illinois. “Move to Indiana, move to Wisconsin or just break the law”. Crap like that.
Jersey has had 12 years to repeal this law. They haven’t. Just enforce the thing already. The smallest gun market in the US wants to mandate a technology that only 1 company sells? Fine, seems to be what they want. Then they have the gall to threaten companies because they can’t fix their crap? Nope. They can just lie in their bed.
I say he got paid by [insert gun control group here] to say he was going to sell the PoS. The idea is to establish a pattern of (alleged) death threats.
Antis will then say we are scared that the ultra-safe smart gun will prevent the next mass shooting.
Scary black rifle – check
30 round magazine clips – check
Body armor – check
Drives to school/mall/post office. Pulls trigger – nothing. “Damn I forgot my SBR enabler watch. Guess I’ll just go home and watch cartoons.”
The anger directed at this guy over the NJ smart gun law is misdirected. If you live in NJ and don’t like the law, change it. Or move across the border to PA and remember why you moved when it comes time to vote.
But don’t blame this guy. He’s not responsible for NJ’s anti-gun laws.
Sounds to me like he and Clive Bundy attended the same PR class.
Any pro-gun/pro-liberty individuals who would threaten a man for selling a “Smart Gun” needs to have there guns and liberties taken away because they obvious are to stupid to understand either. IT’S A FREE MARKET! People should be able to sell whatever the hell they want! I wouldn’t buy a “Smart Gun”, but that’s my CHOICE. Anyone who sent this guy death threats please jump from the highest structure you can find.
It’s a free market, and we enjoy the right to free speech but you want to see someone have their rights taken from them??
I will bet my entire life savings this guy has received not a SINGLE threat. He is doing this to get in the news, and to make anyone that opposes “smart guns” seem like a violent maniac. You guys know the media constantly lies, why do you believe them on this bull? He knows this shit won’t sell to anyone but government, so he is trying to control the narrative, don’t let them deceive you!
Did he put his FFL in jeopardy by drinking in front of all those scary assault rifles?
If anyone wants to read the breathless WaPo story (with the bleeped-out video), here it sits:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/maryland-dealer-will-defy-gun-rights-advocates-by-selling-nations-first-smart-gun/2014/05/01/564efa48-d14d-11e3-937f-d3026234b51c_story.html
Enjoy.
Hey went back to check on his video. LOOKS LIKE HE PULLED THE VIDEO AND THE FB PAGE FOR ENGAGE SCRUBBED EVERYTHING…I guess that happens when you sober up….LOL
Making things better 101, a class he didn’t take.
I like how he is enraged at death threats made to himself, but then tells people to go kill someone else instead (anti gun politicians, but still).
The whole thing seems suspect to me, especially since theres no one who can disporve his claim. Its just hia word., He already has a super loyal local customer base, his sob story and alleged death threats will only get him more business from people who nuy the story no questions asked.
Oaktrer had a back story as well, but calguns actually dug to see if the story was legit or not.
Look, put all the NJ biz aside. Do you really think the way to turn around a gun shop is with a $2 grand .22 that won’t work without an additional $400 “watch” that looks like a toy two-way wrist radio? That takes a PIN to operate, and times out periodically? Would any serious businessman with more than two brain cells to rub together pin his hopes on a product like that as the means to rise from the ashes? I just don’t see it. Business-wise, that just sounds dumb. maybe someone with more business sense than me can explain it to me. But if the guy had any brains at all, I just can’t see that he legitimately thought that offering the Armatix would be any kind of positive game-changer, even without the NJ baggage. With it, even less so. Maybe he was that desperate, or maybe he had something else in mind from the git-go.
Besides drinking, he’s rolled a joint. This guy for new honcho at TTAG.
Hmm, here is a thought; Andy is an idiot.
First up: Not knowing what you’re doing Re: 2a supporters when your business is selling guns.
Second on the list must be making statements that you do know what you’re doing when you don’t. Mess with the bull, get the horns.
Third: lying liar lying. Previous statements indicate that you simply didn’t care about consequence and knew that the last outfit that tried this were bankrupted.
Fourth: If an unknown person or persons want to kill you, and they know where to find you, you’re as good as dead. No amount of arms or skills could possibly save you, it’s chest beating nonsense to pretend otherwise and make counter threats.
Analysis:
This man is a fool, a liar, and exactly the sort of knuckle dragging troglodyte that disparages the image of all the rest of us.
I have little faith that his resignation now would save the business, nor much concern that those who went into business with him will suffer for his incredible ignorance and hubris.
Oddly, I don’t say this because it has anything to do with NJ laws. I say it because intentionally pissing off a powerful lobby composed entirely of your customers and then countering death threats with a come and get it announcement is just so outrageously dumb that it’s humiliating to think that this is ‘one of ours’.
Threatening the man who is just trying to make a legal living and was thinking of stocking a perfectly legal item is absolutely disgusting, cowardly, and low.
If you disagree with the item he didn’t stock, produce, or get paid for then DON’T BUY IT.
This is just like Ashley Todd whom lied about having “B” carved into her head. They do this shit to take the argument away from the looming executive orders, and inevitably the banning of any gun that isn’t a “smart gun”. But to make it about how bad those meanie gun owners are, I doubt that piece of trash has received any more credible threats then anti-gunners give us when they put our address in the paper.
I do hope this worm who is selling out his country for a government contract or whatever, gets pushed out of business. No one will buy one of these guns, and hopefully no one will buy anything else from this Benedict Arnold.
To elaborate on the “smart gun” nonsense, I personally believe that for the government to openly talk about this the plans are already in place. I’ve called Ruger already and asked if they intend to make these guns and of course they didn’t have a comment. I would imagine there is at least one major manufacture ready to pump out smart guns. Keep an eye on any manufacture that gets a lot of money from military contracts, they will do whatever they have to in order to keep those billion dollar contracts.
I’m begging you guys to spread the word and boycott these traitors, don’t believe the bullshit football issues that serve to distract from the core issues.
***********HERE IS THE FULL 13 MINUTE VIDEO HE TOOK DOWN!************
He took it down? THIS is why you “grab” cool vids using the “download helper” extension for firefox.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80qwobLiZQA
Anyway, fix the spelling error under “Leave a Reply” (It says “Please use your real name instead of you [sic] company name”)
To all those stupid enough to issue death-threats to vendors selling (un)smart-pistols, just VOTE with your feet and don’t go to the shop! Or, just don’t buy the smart-pistols. The vendor will then replace them with stock that will sell.
I’ve been to Engage Armament many times. Many of my friends have too. Andy and his employees are good people. Hell, the first time I walked in, he took time from helping other customers to explain how an AR15 worked and the differences in manufacturers, knowing I couldn’t buy one that day.
I don’t know what this is in relation to, but I would not hesitate to buy from these guys anytime. They are a big supporter of the 2A fight in Maryland, especially before the new laws took effect.
They have gotten, and they will continue to get my business in the future. Period.
According to company literature, Armatix launched this technology into the market in 2010. That was four years ago. Y’all are already screwed if your legislature decides to enforce this law. You should have gotten angry and held someone accountable long before this.
Now, unless you can raise the votes to repeal the law, it’s probably too late (unless there are successful court challenges when this law is eventually enforced – it does seem to violate Heller’s “common use” ruling.)
You know what… While I did think it was stupid that this guy was going to sell the gun in the first place, I did see sense in where he was coming from. We really do need more on-the-fencers to join our ranks so to speak. Call me naive, but I do really believe that he wasn’t aware of what would happen with the godforsaken NJ law. I mean, give the guy a break, he realized that it would be a bad idea to sell the gun so he didn’t, but his intentions were originally good. Don’t take this as me liking that gun either; I think that it would be one of the worst things for the 2nd amendment. The drunken retort may not have been the best idea but, we all make mistakes.
In regards to those people who sent the guy death threats and threatened to hurt/ kill his family and dog. Those people disgust me. I am, in fact, ashamed that anybody who has similar beliefs to me would even think to do such things. Those people are just as pathetic to me as those who don’t see the point of the 2nd amendment.
Finally, to those saying “screw the people in NJ, its their law let them deal with it”, keep in mind that we are all in this fight together. That law is blatantly unconstitutional, but if it gets triggered, then there is the possibility for it to work and stay in effect after going through the courts, and that would set a precedence that would be devastating to all the progress we have made in the last few years. This is a law that I could easily see coming to my home state of California, among other, less gun friendly, states. Be supportive of those in other states who have had the natural right of freedom stripped from them. As someone who comes from one of those states, it really does mean a lot to know that you have people across the country fighting for your rights, even though those same people know it doesn’t do anything for them.
Keep fighting Engage Armament, you have my support, along with the support of many others in the gun community.
America, Fuck Yeah!
I don’t say “screw New Jersey, they can suck it!”
But the cause of the problem isn’t the emergence of smart gun technology. That actually could date back to the Magna Trigger for S&W revolvers. The problem is the damned NJ law, and sitting in another state with no intention to ever visit NJ for any reason, I can’t fix that. Only the people of NJ can, but they don’t seem too interested. The NJ legislature could push to start enforcing that law right now if they wanted to.
The gun shop owner did not make the NJ laws or any other anti-gun laws. Instead of wasting time complaining about anti-gun laws in forum posts get off your butts and pack the offices of your elected representatives who are the ones responsible for trampling on the Second Amendment. Let them know just how many gun rights supporters there are and vote them out of office if they support anti-gun laws.
The death by a thousand cuts method of gradually taking away the right to firearm ownership has been in place for several decades and will not stop until enough pissed off gun rights supporters contact their reps in congress and their state capitols to tell them not only to back off the gun control nonsense but that the inane useless gun regulations already on the books must be repealed.
Make sure that everyone who supports gun rights clogs their newspapers opinion pages with editorials supporting gun rights.
Contact your local TV station when they are pushing for gun control and let them know that you are sick and tired of them vilifying lawful gun owners.
You can’t just rely on the NRA to protect your rights. As we have all seen the government will trample on as many rights as the people in charge think they can get away with.
It is up to the citizens of this country to get pissed off enough to participate and put pressure on elected officials to back off from their self-serving power grabbing agendas.
Contact Armatix–one of the companies who is trying to sell the “smart gun” and let them know in no uncertain terms that their products are neither wanted or needed in the United States.
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