According to a report from the Washington Post, the man who founded the company that produced the weapon that was used to slaughter 19 children and two adults at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday once pushed lawmakers to pass legislation making it harder to purchase guns.
Then he backed off after being on the receiving end of criticism from gun owners and disowned the bill after it was signed.
As the Post notes, there has been nothing but silence from Marty Daniel, founder of gunmaker Daniel Defense, since the mass shooting that shocked a nation again, although "The company again offered 'our thoughts and our prayers.'"
Four years ago, the Georgia-based Daniel moved to the forefront of pushing for new laws after a shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs in Texas, where 26 people died at the hands of Devin Patrick Kelley, who died following his armed assault.
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As the New York Times reported at the time, "A gunman clad in all black, with a ballistic vest strapped to his chest and a military-style rifle in his hands, opened fire on parishioners at a Sunday service," adding that Kelley, who served in the Air Force was "court-martialed in 2012 on charges of assaulting his wife and child."
In the wake of that attack, the Post is reporting that "Daniel had backed a federal bill to strengthen the nation’s firearms background check system," because Kelley was able to slip through the system.
After Congress passed the bill and Donald Trump signed it, the Post reports that Daniel then washed his hands of it after he was buffeted with criticism for his earlier support.
According to the Post's Todd Frankel, "Customers of Daniel Defense were outraged. They saw the bill as a Trojan horse for gun control. So Daniel backed down. In a Facebook post, he wrote that he could 'no longer in good conscience put my support behind' the bill. And he vowed not to give an inch in the future," adding also Daniel proclaimed, "I stand with you and I am ready to continue to fight for our rights."
The report noted Daniel "... built his family-owned company in Black Creek, Ga., from nothing into at Top 25 firearms manufacturer, is accustomed to being celebrated for the business he created," adding, "Georgia’s governor cut the yellow ribbon when a new Daniel Defense firearms factory opened in 2018. Daniel and his wife regularly hand out checks totaling millions of dollars in donations. His company’s name stands in big, bold letters atop the scoreboard at a new football stadium at the community center in Pooler, Ga., outside Savannah."
You can read more here.
