Gun Companies Step Up to Fight COVID-19

As the nation gears up to fight coronavirus, companies in the firearm industry are offering time, resources and manufacturing space as part of the effort.

CMMG began a two-week program of providing free lunches to first responders in Booneville, MO, on March 19. The meals are purchased from local restaurants, which supports local businesses and gives back to those who—despite the coronavirus outbreak—continue to protect and serve and respond to the emergency situations of law-abiding citizens in the area.

Chris Reinkemeyer, CMMG CEO said, “We hope this motivates and inspires others to do the same. In times like these, we get through things by supporting our neighbors and serving each other.” The company also has its Tactical Bacon in a can—10-year lifespan if you’re wondering—back in stock, so if you’re looking for a fun way to thank your local teams safely as they work the beat, give it a look.

Remington Arms CEO Ken D’Arcy announced on a Facebook video post yesterday that the company has offered President Donald Trump and New York Gov. Cuomo Andrew Cuomo full use of its 1 million square feet of manufacturing, warehousing and shipping capacity. “It would be an honor for our company to donate space for the manufacture of mission critical products, such as ventilators, hospital beds or anything else deemed necessary,” he said. “Winning a war is never easy and this new war won’t be an exception. But at Remington, as we have for over 200 years, we stand by, ready to enlist.”

Brownells is loaning server time to Folding@Home to help win the battle against COVID-19. Folding@Home is an international effort to dissect the molecular structure of the virus through time- and resource-intensive computer modeling software.

“Our IT team learned about the Folding@Home project and their work using computer modeling to better understand the molecular and protein structure of the virus,” said Brownells IT Director Curt Graff. “We are committed to helping protect our country by virtue of our personal protection and sustainability products, but we see this as a way to support the international community in a time of significant need.”

Companies and even individuals can donate excess computing capacity to Folding@Home, which will harness the added strength to increase the speed of its advanced modeling simulations. The group’s website explains, “Viruses also have proteins that they use to suppress our immune systems and reproduce themselves. To help tackle coronavirus, we want to understand how these viral proteins work and how we can design therapeutics to stop them.”