Representatives and patrons talking at the Smith & Wesson booth during SHOT Show in January 2016. (Photo: Daniel Terrill)
The National Shooting Sports Foundation awarded gun maker Smith & Wesson with its Medal of Freedom for donations made towards the #GUNVOTE campaign.
Smith & Wesson earned the award for contributions totaling $500,000 — the largest sum #GUNVOTE has received to date.
NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence Keane applauded the Massachusetts based gun maker for its outstanding leadership and drive.
“Smith & Wesson really stepped forward with a generous half-million dollar contribution to our #GUNVOTE campaign,” Keane said in a statement. “This commitment to help raise awareness that our citizens’ rights need to be protected for generations to come demonstrates true dedication to our industry and to our American heritage of hunting and the shooting sports.”
Smith & Wesson responded by emphasizing the importance of voters in this election and the role education plays in the gun rights fight.
“We felt it imperative that citizens across our nation become informed about their rights, their candidates and the importance of their vote in this critical election year,” CEO James Debney said. “Our industry is under assault like never before. The decision to support #GUNVOTE of behalf of our customers, employees, distributors and suppliers was clear to us a leading manufacturer.”
NSSF launched #GUNVOTE as a voter registration and education platform for the firearms industry. The initiative has been supported by many manufacturers to include big gun makers Sturm, Ruger & Company; Beretta Holding Group; Taurus and Sig Sauer.
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