Despite Americans rushing out to buy guns along with their toilet paper during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the oldest gun manufacturer in the U.S. is having trouble getting out of bankruptcy. Remington Arms Company, which began building rifles back in 1816 in New York, is reportedly planning to file for chapter 11 protections again after already doing so back in 2018.
That’s not the most interesting part, though. As The Wall Street Journal reported, the most likely savior that could swoop in and buy the assets of the 200-year-old institution is none other than the Navajo Nation, the largest indigenous territory in the country.
“The Navajo Nation—a territory with roughly 175,000 people across parts of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico—could finalize a bid for Remington as soon as Friday,” reported the Journal, citing one of multiple anonymous sources. “The timetable could be pushed back, and an offer from the Navajo Nation isn’t guaranteed to materialize, people familiar with the matter said.”
The story broke on Friday and no deal has been announced, but the potential is still there, especially as the Navajo have a history with Remington. According to the Navajo Times, the Navajo Nation Council considered buying Remington back in 2018, but never made an official offer.
The firearms manufacturer’s woes are due in part, ironically, to President Trump being in office. According to the Journal, sales were better when President Obama was in office and “enthusiasts feared gun control.”
More consequentially, business is down because U.S. citizens are calling for gun control in the wake of continued mass shootings at schools and elsewhere. Remington specifically is still tied up in litigation in connection to its involvement in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
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