Developer enters showdown with Smith & Wesson over gun control
John Rosenthal is the cofounder of Stop Handgun Violence. John Rosenthal has Smith & Wesson in his sights. The developer could just spend his time focused on his long-awaited Fenway Center project, which is finally underway. But he’s also cofounder of Stop Handgun Violence, and there’s some marching to be done. His group has helped 30 or so teens organize a walk from Worcester to Springfield, a journey that will culminate on Sunday with a rally in that city and then a protest at the headquarters of Smith & Wesson parent American Outdoor Brands. The marchers are driven by the fact a Smith & Wesson rifle known as the M&P 15 was used in the deadly Parkland shooting in February. Rosenthal says the military-style rifle is banned in Massachusetts under “copycat” rules enforced by Attorney General Maura Healey because of its similarity to an explicitly banned gun, the Colt AR-15. On Sunday, the marchers plan to ask Smith & Wesson to donate $5 million to gun-violence prevention research and to demand that it stop making any weapons that aren’t legal for sale in its home state. It seems unlikely either request will be granted. With the company’s gun sales on the decline, investors probably wouldn’t appreciate losing a valuable revenue source. But it’s hard to know for sure how the company will respond, or even if it will: American Outdoor Brands hasn’t returned requests for comment. A National Shooting Sports Foundation spokesman called the demands unreasonable, saying gun control […]
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