On Feb. 15, gun retailer Cheaper Than Dirt became the sixth gun and ammunition retailer to announce they will no longer sell their products and inventory to police and other government agencies in states that have instituted 2nd Amendment restrictions on their citizens. In a new case of unintended consequence, gun and ammo sellers are choosing to follow the letter of the law, and holding law enforcement to the same standards that the law now holds the public.

Recently, companies such as LaRue Tactical and Olympic Arms have announced that they will no longer sell prohibited items to government agencies and personnel in states that deny the right to own those items to civilians. It has been and will continue to be Cheaper Than Dirt’s policy to not to sell prohibited items to government agencies and/or agents in states, counties, cities, and municipalities that have enacted restrictive gun control laws against their citizens. We support and encourage other companies that share in this policy. - Cheaper Than Dirt

Since the Sandy Hook school shootings, many legislators at both the Federal and state levels have proposed and implemented new laws restricting the type of firearms, and size of magazines, available to citizens across the country. In the wake of this political outcry, the state of New York in particular, has imposed some of the most draconian gun laws on record, and it is primarily in this state that gun retailers have chosen a self-imposed boycott on product sales to law enforcement agencies.

Cheaper Than Dirt is just one of six gun and ammunition retailers so far to join the boycott, and refuse sales of guns and ammo to government agencies. The other five firearm companies are LaRue Tactical, Olympic Arms, Inc., Extreme Firepower, Inc. (EFI), Templar Custom, and York Arms. These six retailers make up a large block of sales in the state of New York, and are part of the record 16.8 million background checks in the U.S. in 2012.

Since the massive rise in civilian gun sales since 2010, and record ammo purchases by the Department of Homeland Security in the past 18 months, local and state police departments have experienced growing shortages in ammunition that they require for practice, training, and duty use. With several month backlogs at major gun and ammo manufacturers taking place, this boycott could eventually have major consequences to law enforcement agencies in New York, and other states which are serviced by the boycotting retailers.

When government agencies and legislative bodies institute laws that affect consumers and retailers alike, there is often many unintended consequences that cannot be foreseen until long after that legislation goes into effect. And as a result, the new laws that states like New York, Washington, and even the Federal government are instituting may lead to even greater shortages of vital firearm products to law enforcement agencies as companies begin to fight back through more self imposed boycotts, and other forms of economic protest.