GAG Gives Sturm und Drang to Sturm, Ruger | Event Recap
At 1:30 pm on Sunday, December 17, activists from Gays Against Guns (GAG) and other gun violence prevention allies marched from the Fairfield, CT train station down Fairfield’s main shopping street to the Sturm, Ruger headquarters in Southport to hold a 2 pm press conference and protest against the company for manufacturing the AR-556, the semi-automatic assault rifle used in the massacre that killed 26 churchgoers in Sutherland Springs, TX on November 5th, 2017.
GAG and our allies demanded that Sturm, Ruger CEO Chris Killoy and his company stop manufacturing the AR-556 because it and other AR-15 type assault rifles were originally designed for military purposes, killing the maximum amount of people in the shortest amount time. While Sturm, Ruger and assault weapon enthusiasts insist the guns are only used for hunting and sport, they are frequently used in increasingly lethal mass murders like the ones that occurred in Las Vegas, Orlando, Sandy Hook and Aurora.
“Sturm, Ruger and all the other AR-15 manufacturers out there have blood on their hands for continuing to profit off of weapons that should have never left the battlefield,” said GAG activist Natalie James. “The massacre in Sutherland Springs last month and the massacre that happened in nearby Sandy Hook five years ago are bloody and tragic reminders that these weapons are not fun and games and should be banned for civilian use.”
Gays Against Guns is also calling for a reinstatement of the Assault Weapons Ban that existed from 1994 until 2004. A new bill asking for reinstatement was introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein in November.
In addition, the group wants to block the passage of HR 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which just passed in the House of Representatives. The legislation is problematic because it would allow individuals from states with lax licensing and permitting policies to carry concealed weapons into other states with stricter regulations.
