American legend Remington Outdoor Company is filing for bankruptcy. As the Wall Street Journal reports, anti-gun advocacy, declining sales and the continuing threat of a class-action lawsuit that resulted from the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting are killing an American institution that was founded in 1816 will always be idenified with the Old West.
The Journal reports that Remington actually declared its intention to file for bankruptcy last month but waited until the firestorm abated from the Parkland, Florida shooting.
Remington will reportedly relinquish control of the company to creditors who will assume its debt.
The company’s demise is ironically occurring with a staunch Second Amendment advocate in the White House. As the Journal notes, gun manufacturers ramped up production in the fading days of the Obama presidency, anticipating a Hillary Clinton White House that would foster and promote anti-gun legislation.
The lingering threat of a massive lawsuit from the Sand Hook shooting is another major factor in Remington’s demise. Although a class-action suit arguing that Remington was at fault for selling a assault-type weapons to teenagers was initially dismissed, that verdict is being appealed.
Attorney Katie-Mesner Hage, who is representing the class-action suit, claimed in a statement “We do not expect this filing to affect the families’ case in any material way.”