Downrange: 07/07

Since Remington Arms Company was acquired by Cerberus Capital Management for $118 million in cash and assuming Remingtons $252 million of accumulated debt, Remington executives were rightly worried that changes were coming. Cerberus is known for bringing in its own management teams to

run the companies it has acquired. Big Green recently made the following personnel announcements:

Paul Miller has been named chairman of the board. Miller has served most recently as the chairman of the board of Bushmaster Firearms.

Paul Cahan has been named president of the Ammunition and Clay Target Operations division. Cahan has been with Remington for 12 years.

John DeSantis has been named president of Firearms Operations. Formerly CEO of Bushmaster Firearms, DeSantis will oversee all manufacturing facilities as well as all R&D activities within Remingtons firearms business.

Scott Blackwell has been named president of sales and marketing. Blackwell most recently served as the president of Bushmaster Firearms.

In 2006 Remington posted earnings of $300,000 after three previous years of losses. Cerberus acquired Bushmaster Firearms, Inc., for an undisclosed sum in April 2006. With all the Bushmaster management now at the helm of Remington, can a new AR-15 from Remington be far away?

Parker v. D.C. may be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Brady Campaign is worried. Brady president Paul Helmke said, “The D.C. law is an easy one to shoot at. Factually, its a tougher one to get behind and defend. Why is this the one were going to be taking up to the Supremes?”

The Brady Campaign is livid over the Parker statement that, “The pre-existing right to keep and bear arms was premised on the commonplace assumption that individuals would use them for these private purposes, in addition to whatever militia service they would be obligated to perform for the state. The premise that private arms would be used for self-defense agrees with Blackstones observation, which had influenced thinking in the American colonies, that the peoples right to arms was auxiliary to the natural right of self-preservation. The right of self-preservation, in turn, was understood as the right to defend oneself against attacks by lawless individuals, or, if absolutely necessary, to resist and throw off a tyrannical government.”

Wisconsin Senate Bill 104 would prevent anyone who is not an FFL from “transferring” a firearm to anyone else, including family members, anywhere in the state. The language does not specify that a sale has to occur, nor does it define what a “transfer” is. Consequently, an individual who allows a relative or friend to borrow their firearm for target shooting or hunting is technically transferring a firearm in direct violation of the law. This is a horrible bill. If you live in Wisconsin, please contact your representatives and ask them to vote against it. GT