A new not-for-profit organization dedicated to the legal defense of firearms retailers was announced Saturday at the AcuSport West Dealer Conferences in Salt Lake City, UT.
AcuSport Corporation, a distributor of outdoor and shooting sports products, presented the launch of the the Firearms Retailer Defense Fund (FRDF), whic h will actively support the effort to defend retailers when faced with litigation seeking to regulate the industry.
THe FRDF said other firearms distributors have also shown great interest in becoming charter members in support of the FRDF cause. FRDF will accept donations through collection efforts by participating distributors to help independent firearms retailers defray legal expenses they may incur to defend unfair law suits filed by municipalities, politicians or anti-gun organizations.
Each participating distributor will accept and process individual donations on a negligible per order basis with existing customers. In addition, a website (www.FRDF.org) has been created to accept on-line donations.
The creation of the FRDF counteracts the deep-pocketed plaintiff by uniting dealers to defend and protect themselves – and the industry as a whole – through a “rainy day fund collecting a few pennies at a time.”
These collected funds will be shared when needed to combat the potential infliction of harm through the legal process. “Independent firearms retailers are continually being pressured by anti-gun organizations, changes in legislation and increasing political pressures.” said Jim Broering, AcuSport President. “We are always looking for ways to support and strengthen our customers business and the industry in general, and are proud to stand along with our brother and sister distributors in this cause.”
Firearms industry attorney Christopher Chiafullo has been appointed Chairman of the FRDF board of directors. Chiafullo is best known in the firearms industry as the attorney who created FFLGuard. “Firearms retailers should not feel alone when a plaintiff strikes, and FRDF is just one of the resources that will help protect them,” Chiafullo said.
As an example, Chiafullo pointed to the protracted and costly legal battle ensuing between Mayor Bloomberg and retailer Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna, Georgia, noting that “[a] focused and well-funded plaintiffs effort to put a retailer out of business via bankruptcy by lawsuit is a true example of David versus Goliath
requiring the proper resources and industry expertise to increase the likelihood of success when facing that seemingly impossible fight.” The FRDF, Chiafullo concludes, “gives David the firearms retailer at least a few stones for his slingshot.”
