Shownotes
State of the Second sits down with Jordan from Kill Flash Photography, an engineer turned firearms content creator who built a marketing business out of taking photos of guns. Jordan came up in the defense contracting world, decided he was being too technically minded, and bought a camera. He started an Instagram he never expected to run, since he hated Facebook and didn't even have a personal account before that. About five years later he shoots content and does marketing for a range of companies in the industry, and he has started his own mechanical design business to bring firearms accessory products to market. The company is Republic of Arizona Research, Razor for short.
Much of the conversation is about the people. Jordan and John met through content work, talked for hours by phone and message, and felt like old friends the first time they met in person at the GOA booth at SHOT Show. Jordan describes the 2A industry as people from very different backgrounds who hover around one centerpiece and find common ground. He credits a no-gatekeeping culture for his own start, where established creators shared camera settings, flash setups, and technique freely. When Meta's shadow banning and censorship hit, creators built a private collaboration group so they could share posts and lift each other up. Jordan's view: the only way anyone grows is together, high tides raise all ships.
The back half turns to policy. The hosts walk through GOA's recent California roster win that added guns like the Hellcat and the 365, the pistol brace injunctions, and the still-pending bump stock case, and they tie each one to real economic impact, citing a billion-plus dollars tied to pistol braces. Kaylee lays out her framework that culture sits upstream of politics, politics upstream of the industry, and the industry upstream of the individual gun owner, which is why creators fighting the culture war on platforms that don't want them there matters. They warn that gun control gets buried deep inside unrelated bills under a vote-now-read-later culture, praise GOA's Federal Affairs team for sifting through thousand-page bills, and push listeners to research candidates rather than vote by the letter next to a name. The episode closes with a call to pick up a camera, join the community, and use the 2024 election to be heard.
Links
Questions this episode answers
How did an engineer from the defense contracting world end up building a business taking photos of guns?
Jordan came up in defense contracting, decided he was too technically minded, and bought a camera to get more artistic. He started an Instagram he never expected to run, and about five years later he shoots content and does marketing for companies across the firearms industry.
Why does the firearms industry collaborate instead of treating each other as competition?
Jordan describes the Second Amendment community as people from very different backgrounds who gather around one centerpiece and find common ground. His view is that the only way anyone grows is together, a high tide that raises all ships.
How do firearms content creators handle Instagram and Meta censorship and shadow banning?
When Meta's shadow banning and censorship hit, creators built a private collaboration group to share posts and lift each other up. The idea is that supporting each other's content is how they keep growing on platforms that work against them.
What is the private creator group and why did creators build it?
It is a private collaboration group creators formed in response to Meta's shadow banning and censorship. Members share each other's posts and support one another so their content can still reach people despite platform suppression.
What helped Jordan get started as a firearms photographer?
Jordan credits a no-gatekeeping culture, where established creators freely shared camera settings, flash setups, and technique. That openness let him learn the craft and build his own following.
What was the impact of GOA's California roster win and the pistol brace injunctions on companies and gun owners?
Gun Owners of America's California roster win added guns like the Hellcat and the 365 back to what residents can buy, and the pistol brace injunctions carried real economic weight, with the hosts citing more than a billion dollars tied to braces.
Why does gun control end up hidden inside unrelated bills, and how does GOA's team catch it?
Gun control often gets buried deep inside unrelated bills under a vote-now-read-later culture. GOA's Federal Affairs team sifts through thousand-page bills to find those provisions before they pass.
How should voters evaluate a candidate's real record on the Second Amendment?
The episode urges voters to research candidates rather than vote by the letter next to a name. Jordan's point is that you need to know who you are voting for and what they truly stand for, not just their party.
Chapters
- 00:00 — Meet Jordan from Kill Flash Photography
- 00:18 — Engineer turned firearms creator
- 01:20 — Why photograph guns: building meets art
- 02:35 — The relationships are the best part
- 04:51 — No gatekeeping when you start out
- 06:16 — Censorship, shadow banning, and collaboration
- 09:44 — The 'A team' creator group
- 13:01 — Pick up a camera and touch 100 people
- 16:16 — Advice on building your first firearm
- 17:54 — California roster win and taking freedoms back
- 20:07 — Pistol braces and the billion-dollar impact
- 22:46 — Culture upstream of politics and the industry
- 29:05 — Gun control hidden in bills, vote now read later
- 32:08 — Do your research, don't vote by the letter
- 34:17 — Wrap-up and where to follow Jordan
About the guest
Jordan is the creator behind Kill Flash Photography and, by trade, an engineer who spent time in the defense contracting world. He has said he felt too technically minded and wanted to branch out and get artistic, so he bought a camera and started an Instagram, having never used one before. About five years in, he shoots content and does marketing for a range of companies throughout the firearms industry, and he has started a small business doing his own mechanical design to bring firearms accessory products to market, called Republic of Arizona Research (Razor for short). He works at the Hub in Arizona.
Key quotes
"The people that I've met in the industry through these, doing content for them, and those kind of connections are some of the best people I've ever met." — Jordan
"It's a little bit cliche but I always love the saying high tides raise all ships." — Jordan
"You may only get 100 followers or 100 subscribers, but that's 100 people that you've touched." — John
"You have culture upstream of politics, politics upstream of the industry. The industry is often what's upstream of the individual gun owner." — Kaylee
"When you get into the perspective of pass now, read later, there is not a higher responsibility for them than to know what they're voting on." — Jordan
"You need to know who you're voting for and you need to know what they truly stand for." — Jordan
Transcripts
Welcome back to the State of the second podcast.
Speaker A:We're here with Jordan from Kill Flash Photography.
Speaker A:Jordan, how are you today?
Speaker B:I'm super happy to be here with the two of you and interested in what we're going to talk about.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's going to be exciting.
Speaker A:So give the people a little bit of backstory about you and for people who may not know who you are.
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:So I am kind of by trade an engineer.
Speaker B:I have done a lot of different things in kind of the defense contracting world and really decided that one day I was being way too technically minded and needed to branch out and get a little artistic.
Speaker B:And I bought a camera, was already doing, like, builds and things like that and, you know, kind of snowballed from there, you know, started an Instagram.
Speaker B:That's how, you know, a lot of people kind of start rolling and, you know, it's built a lot.
Speaker B:So, you know, now I, I do content and, you know, marketing for a range of companies throughout the industry.
Speaker B:And I've started a small business on the side where I'm doing my own mechanical design and looking to bring a couple different products to market in the firearms accessory space.
Speaker A:So as a content creator, you.
Speaker A:You take fantastic photos of firearms in all kinds of different climates and stuff, which is cool.
Speaker A:That's how I got to know you as a content creator.
Speaker A:What made you want to just take photos of guns?
Speaker A:It's like, it's fun.
Speaker A:But what made you, like, what was your passion drive behind that?
Speaker B:Honestly, it was like, I really do have to think about things, how they mechanically go together all the time.
Speaker B:And honestly, my kids end up being the same way now, and hopefully that's a good thing in the end.
Speaker B:But I think from there it was, I want to try to be artistic.
Speaker B:I'm building these things.
Speaker B:Why not kind of merge them together?
Speaker B:And also, once I started and got in, to be honest, I didn't have an Instagram at all before that.
Speaker B:Like, I didn't even have a personal one.
Speaker B:I hated Facebook, never used it or anything like that.
Speaker B:And so it was always funny to me because people would be like, wait, you do stuff on Instagram?
Speaker B:Like, you hate that stuff?
Speaker B:Like, I don't know now I'm not sure who it is anymore.
Speaker B:And so we got into that and getting to know the brands and the people and like the background of like, hey, we do all these things.
Speaker B:We're family owned, whatever the story may be.
Speaker B:That's really what kept me wanting to do more and more.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:You get to know these Brands, these small businesses, and they're doing really cool things and they're like so passionate about what they're doing.
Speaker B:And I say this to everybody.
Speaker B:The people that I've met in the industry through these, doing content for them, and those kind of connections are some of the best people I've ever met.
Speaker B:And so that part has been the thing that's kept me wanting to do more and more.
Speaker B:And every year, coming here and meeting people face to face that you've only talked to over Instagram or over email or talked to on the phone, you know, that part closes it up too, where you get to put a real face to the name and you get to learn more about them and why they do what they do in any industry.
Speaker B:Honestly, the interfaces that you make, those relationships end up being the strongest piece of it and they end up being the most rewarding too.
Speaker A:So you and I met through doing content.
Speaker A:You helped me with some content at some point, and we hadn't met until you decided to drive up and meet.
Speaker A:And it's weird because we've met, we've talked for hours on the phone, or we messaged back and forth for hours.
Speaker A:And I've done this with a ton of different people in the industry.
Speaker A:And you finally meet each other for the first time.
Speaker A:It's like you've been friends forever.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it's just like the conversation keeps growing.
Speaker A:And that's what I'd like to see as a firearms community.
Speaker A:It doesn't have to be always face to face interactions.
Speaker A:It could be through social media, it could be over the phone or email.
Speaker A:But once you get together, it's like you don't skip.
Speaker A:There's no, like that awkward, like meaning.
Speaker A:It's just like, I know you, you know me, we talked for hours and then we just became friends.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:The other piece of that that I feel like is really maybe unique to this area is honestly, a lot of different people are from very different backgrounds.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But it's like we kind of hover around this centerpiece, which is the 2A industry, and it kind of doesn't matter.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:You find that common ground.
Speaker B:And there are people that, outside of this, maybe we would, one, either never met or two, maybe not gotten along.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But you find that middle ground and then you're like, hey, this clicks, this works.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like you said, when you meet in person, it's just like jump into the next stage and you never have that weirdness.
Speaker A:But yeah, I want to encourage people, like, if, if they want to reach out to you.
Speaker A:How many people randomly have reached out to you and gone, hey, I want to get into this, or I want to learn about photography or get into the firearm space?
Speaker B:So many, right?
Speaker B:And honestly, I was that person when I started, right?
Speaker B:It's been about five years.
Speaker B:And when I started, you know, I was looking through the people that I felt did a really good job, and I was very blessed in finding people that had no problem sharing information.
Speaker B:Like, no gatekeeping.
Speaker B:I mean, that's a thing.
Speaker B:It's still a thing, but when you find the people that kind of like, break that down, even if it's just a, hey, what camera did you shoot that with?
Speaker B:How did you do this?
Speaker B:What were your settings?
Speaker B:What kind of flash did you use?
Speaker B:Those are little pieces of information, but from someone who's so good at doing makes all the difference to someone that's never done it.
Speaker B:I'm still doing that because I started as the engineer and then started doing this.
Speaker B:I tell people all the time, like, I don't really feel like.
Speaker B:I don't feel like a photographer.
Speaker B:And I am always learning new things, and there's just crazy great people in the industry that are doing it all the time.
Speaker B:And I'm more than anything, I'm like, humbled to be able to work with them and work with companies and talk with folks like you that are.
Speaker B:You guys are doing so many amazing things across the industry in general and helping everyone and normal people like me that want to own guns, want to keep our rights, you know, want to just live as the Constitution says.
Speaker B:That piece, to me is the best part, right?
Speaker B:Being being included in some of the circles that you end up being included in is, like, crazy.
Speaker C:So five years ago, you get on Instagram, you're doing something that Meta doesn't necessarily like.
Speaker C:So how do you handle the censorship, the shadow banning?
Speaker C:And have you seen a decrease in interactions at all?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And I feel like when I started, it's like a funny story.
Speaker B:We had our second kid and I'm like, sitting on the couch holding the baby a lot, which was great, but I'm a little bit bored.
Speaker B:They like to sleep a lot and they're real cute on the phone.
Speaker B:And I started it and from there, at first, it was like a lot of growth, right?
Speaker B:And it was.
Speaker B:It was five years ago, which was significantly different.
Speaker B:But then you get like this crash course in, we hate this stuff.
Speaker B:You can't post this stuff.
Speaker B:You know, how do you get around those things?
Speaker B:How do you jump through those hoops?
Speaker B:And honestly, I felt like the industry in general has embraced this idea of collaboration and some companies got on it way earlier.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:They've been doing this for two, three years and a lot of companies are starting to come around.
Speaker B:It's like the only way that anyone's going to grow is together.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And so it's a little bit cliche but I always love the saying high tides raise all ships.
Speaker B:And that's a thing, man.
Speaker B:When you can partner with good companies that have solid morals and solid business practices and then do love doing things on social media and like partnering up with people that have that kind of like minded mentality, that's the only way that I found that the only way I've been able to keep growing.
Speaker B:And some of the larger folks in the industry, I feel like that's what they've done, they grasped onto this how do we help each other type of mentality.
Speaker B:And it's what's working.
Speaker A:And that's the weird part about this industry compared to other industries where other industries.
Speaker A:You don't really see a lot of collaborations between companies in the firearms space.
Speaker A:You know, we're always doing collaborative giveaways or collaborative ties to each other or figuring out like we're always constantly talking.
Speaker A:It's never this competition.
Speaker A:I mean there's, there is competition but it's never like I won't talk to so and so because they work at X company or I won't work with so and so because they work at X Company.
Speaker A:I mean we've done, we've done giveaways where we've got the firearm is from one company and we've got the holster from another company and we've got a suppressor from this company and that suppressor company may also make guns, but they are willing to work together to continue seeing the growth in the second Amendment.
Speaker B:Yep, I totally agree.
Speaker B:And I feel like that is kind of a paramount piece of how everybody keeps going.
Speaker B:And, and exactly like you said, if you're a magazine company and there's another magazine company, they're always fighting their own battles within certain states and there's no reason to fight each other too.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:There's enough of us, there's enough civilian gun owners that are going to buy all those mags.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And so there's no need to fight amongst each other.
Speaker B:You can collaborate, you can get along and really putting your customers first, that's what is going to drive that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I want to applaud you because when the shadow stuff started happening, you created a secret group of The A team.
Speaker A:And I am part of that group, which I'm very blessed to be a part of that group.
Speaker A:But we have gotten together as content creators and as industry professionals and we have sit behind the scenes and chat with each other and send posts to each other so we can collaborate and it's been fantastic.
Speaker B:Totally agree.
Speaker B:And I can't take all the credit for that.
Speaker B:There was a couple of people threw it together, but there are very, very few people that I can think of that I wouldn't want to put into a group like that.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:You have all these great creators and great marketing people out of companies that just want to see each other do well, lift each other up.
Speaker B:And that group is a great example of it.
Speaker B:Just help each other out.
Speaker B:Make sure you're sharing each other's stuff, make sure you help trying to raise awareness, plugging each other with different companies.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:There's a company that's really looking to do a media blitz on something specific.
Speaker B:You're like, hey, I got Buddy here, Buddy here.
Speaker B:She's great, he's great.
Speaker B:Let's do it together.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker A:And that's the funny part about this industry is everybody thinks that the firearm space is huge and it looks huge from the outside looking in.
Speaker A:But we are such a tight knit group of people.
Speaker A:It's like Emily was the one who turned me onto you.
Speaker A:Emily works with PWS at Marie Road.
Speaker A:She turned me on to you.
Speaker A:We started talking, then you gave me Jeremy's name and we started talking and then somebody gave me somebody else's name.
Speaker A:We started talking.
Speaker A:We've built this community of friends and we are very tight knit and we're always at show saying hi to each other.
Speaker A:Kaylee made fun of me this week alone because every time I turned a corner, somebody was saying hi and she's like, you know, way too many people.
Speaker C:It's a good thing.
Speaker C:Listen, you just need to learn how to use a map.
Speaker A:Shot.
Speaker A:Show is hard, right?
Speaker B:I mean, it was the reason I met y' all at the GOA booth because it's like I'm never gonna get to that room if I have to do it by myself.
Speaker B:Somebody's gotta hold my hand.
Speaker C:Navigation may not be John strong suit so I'm like, dude, we gotta go.
Speaker C:We are late.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker C:No, I mean, I agree the, the firearm industry is incredibly close and it's.
Speaker C:But it's a community that's excited to grow.
Speaker C:We're not gatekeeping anything.
Speaker C:We're not gatekeeping secrets.
Speaker C:We're not gatekeeping community.
Speaker C:Yeah, not everyone gets the opportunity to go do an event like Shot show, because there are times when you do need to get business done.
Speaker C:No one's saying that, but if someone sees you at the range, they're not going to be put off by going up to you and talking to you.
Speaker C:You're gonna be like, oh, this is your first time at the range.
Speaker C:It's awesome.
Speaker C:And I think that's pretty consistent for everyone.
Speaker C:Everyone wants to see the community grow.
Speaker C:Everyone wants to see Pro2A people, whether they decide to make a career shift or not.
Speaker A:Well, I will say this.
Speaker A:There's a lot of you who are listening and watching to this podcast, and.
Speaker A:And I will encourage you, just like Jordan, to pick up a camera.
Speaker A:You may only get one.
Speaker A:Like, you may only get 100 followers or 100 subscribers, but that's 100 people that you've touched.
Speaker A:And I learned that from a great guy.
Speaker A:Mike Pluth told me that the one time when I was talking to him about Instagram and YouTube, and he's like, listen, it doesn't matter.
Speaker A:You could have five followers.
Speaker A:You could have 100 followers, but you've touched five to 100 people who may not have been Pro2A, who may not have learned this stuff.
Speaker A:And you're teaching them this.
Speaker A:This Pro2Amessage, and you're teaching them how to use firearm safety, and you're teaching them how to get into this community.
Speaker A:And I encourage everybody to pick up a camera, pick up a phone or do something and shoot a video or shoot content or take a picture.
Speaker A:And you might.
Speaker A:It might not be perfect.
Speaker A:The first time around, you were going to nitpick yourself just like, you know what I mean?
Speaker A:But do it because you don't know who you may interact with.
Speaker A:You may have somebody like Jordan come onto your page and go, dude, that's awesome.
Speaker A:And you will sit there and go, oh, somebody really likes me.
Speaker B:You know, I feel like that kind of leans into the methodology of, you know, trying to build up your own community, right?
Speaker B:So it doesn't really matter if you've got 100,000 followers, right?
Speaker B:If you're, like, doing good things in your own community, you're helping teach people around you.
Speaker B:I get tons because I kind of started in the builder piece.
Speaker B:Piece part.
Speaker B:Hey, I really like this and this and this.
Speaker B:I get tons of questions all the time, like, hey, what do you think about this part?
Speaker B:As opposed to this part?
Speaker B:Hey, you just put this on.
Speaker B:It's new.
Speaker B:What do you think about it?
Speaker B:And I really love that.
Speaker B:And I feel like I'M not super huge when it comes to that perspective or, like, comparatively, across the industry with other, you know, channels and things like that.
Speaker B:But when people ask me my opinion and they're like, thank you so much for even answering and blah, blah, I'm like, absolutely.
Speaker B:Like, that's dumb.
Speaker B:Of course I'm gonna answer.
Speaker B:Like, it's literally what I'm here for.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:I'm here to show you, hey, this is really awesome.
Speaker B:It might be awesome in your build, and I can give you my perspective on, you know, is it designed well?
Speaker B:Is it not?
Speaker B:Does it fit this well?
Speaker B:Is it good for shooting?
Speaker B:Is it not?
Speaker B:So I like that part.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Especially, you know, going into your.
Speaker C:The side where you really love that building aspect, customization, designing, manufacturing.
Speaker C:It's so exciting to see the industry continue to embrace that customization and that ability to intimately know your firearm, because we're kind of the only group left that fits that mold still.
Speaker C:And firearms are a very intimate tool.
Speaker C:You're trusting them to protect yourself, to protect your family.
Speaker C:But beyond that, that customization feature, that being able to build your own firearm is also becoming harder and harder from a governmental standpoint.
Speaker C:So what is your kind of advice to someone who maybe is looking to customize their first firearm or maybe even get into building and understanding the mechanical side of things?
Speaker B:Yeah, I think the big thing is watch videos.
Speaker B:There's an abundance of information out there.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Find good channels.
Speaker B:I say this about the training piece, too.
Speaker B:There's great people out there.
Speaker B:Find one that you connect with, that you can learn well from.
Speaker B:You kind of absorb the information that they give better based on how they present it or in the area that they present.
Speaker B:Same thing.
Speaker B:Whether it be training or building, find those people, whether it be YouTube or Instagram or any social media, kind of latch onto that, ask questions.
Speaker B:And I do feel like there's a lot of local gun stores that have people that are just super passionate about these things and they want to help.
Speaker B:They'll talk your ear off if you ask them a question, how do I put this together?
Speaker B:And so we like to joke about, oh, this guy, all he does is love guns.
Speaker B:He's a gun nerd.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:But they house a lot of information.
Speaker B:Multi generations.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:If you go into some of these local gun stores, they house a lot of information that's super helpful if you're willing to kind of sit back and listen to it.
Speaker B:And I do think that when it comes to states that have limitations on what accessories you can and can't use, that's Another good piece about the industry is they're always working on ways to overcome those problems and those infringements.
Speaker A:Yeah, we just a few weeks ago, we just won the case in California so that more guns could come on the roster which California has some of the strictest gun control.
Speaker A:And we are seeing that we are slowly but surely taking back some of those freedoms by adding things like the Hellcat and the 365 to the California roster.
Speaker A:And I'd like to say we can do that in all the states that are having these issues with massive gun controls.
Speaker A:I mean we were talking a few or last episode with or an episode before that, wherever it ends up on the list with Rachel from Night Vision and she's talking about New York and it's literally one part of the whole state that is controlling the rest of it.
Speaker A: g into an election year, it's: Speaker A:Go out, voice your opinion, be heard.
Speaker A:Let people know that this we're enough with the gun control thing.
Speaker A:It doesn't work.
Speaker A:It's an infringement on our second amendment rights.
Speaker A:The founders, as Kelly says, and as every the Goa says is the founders put the Second Amendment what it should be in 27 words.
Speaker A:It only takes 27 words to say shall not be infringed.
Speaker A:So again, I encourage everyone to go out and voice their opinion, let people know, get on Instagram, get on YouTube, turn the camera on, take photos, do videos, join this awesome community that we've built and have really come together.
Speaker B:It's really one of the reasons I'm such a huge supporter of G away is like that.
Speaker B:That specific you just brought up, right?
Speaker B:The case in California, like think about the ripple effects of that, right?
Speaker B:Think about all of the positives that come from that one.
Speaker B:It stops just a piece of infringement.
Speaker B:Then it gets this market open for these companies to be able to sell to people that should be able to buy them anyway.
Speaker B:And now it opens an accessory market.
Speaker B:So how many companies are positively impacted by that?
Speaker B:How many families, how many real Americans now have an uptick in a crazy time of downtick because of the actions that the organization has done?
Speaker A:We saw this recently, we like to call it the attack at the dinner table with the pistol brace.
Speaker A:And luckily we've got this injunction out there for our members.
Speaker A:But also the national injunction just came through and unfortunately that wasn't our case, but we were a part of that.
Speaker A:And the amount of companies that are thankful and happy that they can now sell these brace firearms again, where the ATF has clearly overreached.
Speaker A:They've gone over their allowed power and have become power hungry to grab more of these accessories.
Speaker A:And as Kaylee says it, this war on plastic that they're doing.
Speaker A:And you know, it comes down to you can't change your mind on things once it's made up.
Speaker A:And it affects these companies millions and millions.
Speaker A:I mean, I talked to, we've talked to a number of companies on this podcast and I remember sitting down when I was at Faxon with our team on a phone call with ATF going, what is the economical impact of pistol braces?
Speaker A:It's a billion plus dollars.
Speaker A:That's a billion plus dollars not in our economy, which hurts the economy, which keeps with this inflation and all this other stuff.
Speaker A:So bring back that piece.
Speaker A:Just makes these companies go, cool, we're good, we can continue to sell.
Speaker A:We can move that inventory that we've been sitting on.
Speaker A:There are more people willing to buy brace firearms.
Speaker A:And I want to keep seeing us get that, those freedoms back.
Speaker A:I mean, there's a bump stock case that's still in court right now.
Speaker B:Yeah, you're totally right.
Speaker B:You know, you think about, you know, all the way at the top manufacturers, right.
Speaker B:Brace manufacturers, but then all of the firearm manufacturers that were including braces as their, you know, SKUs for things that they sold all the way down to the actual, you know, gun store owners and gun stores.
Speaker B:I work at the Hub in Arizona and you know, they had tons of inventory at one point in time, they all had braces on them.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So now they can have braces back on them.
Speaker B:It increases their ability to move inventory to get firearms are the people that want them, they want them in that configuration.
Speaker B:They don't want to buy it with just a buffer tube.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And a lot of them don't want to have to go through the hoops of the nfa.
Speaker B:And so it cuts a ton of possibilities out of that equation when you remove the pistol brace.
Speaker B:And not to mention its original intent of all of these wounded veterans or really anybody with a disability that was utilizing them for that, for that reason, just totally cut off.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And we talk a lot about, well, what is the effect of things really.
Speaker C:And so most people who've listened to the podcast have heard me say, you have culture upstream of politics, politics upstream of the industry.
Speaker C:The industry is often what's upstream of the individual gun owner.
Speaker C:And to negate one or two of those is to miss what's really going on.
Speaker C:And so people will often say, well, you know, meta is A private company, like, why do you care if they're shadow banning or censoring?
Speaker C:Like they're allowed to have whatever they want on their platform.
Speaker C:And sure, that exists to a certain degree, but if no one is allowed to voice a pro gun argument, a pro second amendment argument, a pro individual liberty argument, well, that's going to have a significant impact on culture and then culture is going to have a significant impact on politics and then that's what's going to allow more and more infringements to continue to happen.
Speaker C:And so I think it's really important when we look at someone like you who is fighting that culture war and continuing to post on Medic, to continuing to post on other platforms, to make all of the side channels for collaboration.
Speaker C:Because you understand and see the importance of dealing with the culture surrounding the Second Amendment and the culture at large.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And a lot of people have said this.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:It's the start.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:When you think about the reason the second Amendment was put in place in the first place and you think about if one is infringed upon, the others will be infringed upon.
Speaker B:It is just the start.
Speaker B:And so, you know, focusing on boiling it down to the base problem and exactly like you said, looking at all the implications, all the downstream effects, every, you know, group and or individual that ends up getting, you know, negatively affected by these things, that's really, you know, it mounts into a drive of why things need to be done the way that they're being done from your guys, organizations and, you know, other organizations like you.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And I think people might miss the part about the industry because, you know, oftentimes gun owners, whether they realize it or not, get very upset at the companies because, wow, you have this amazing gun, but it's in, you know, it's overseas or, you know, why, when are you going to bring this here?
Speaker C:And you know, they get upset at the company and the company is like, dude, like, I can't.
Speaker C:There's not a legal way for me to do this.
Speaker C:And it's because they might not see what is happening on, on the bureaucratic level or happening with Congress that is preventing them from having that firearm in the first place.
Speaker C:And there's some misplaced blame there.
Speaker A:I mean, we were on with Chase from BAA talking about the 68 Gun Control act and we asked him, I'm like, you've got all these cool products in Europe that people are making and bring them in because there's a hot market.
Speaker A:He's like, I can't, I can't do this because 68 gun control act says I can't do this.
Speaker A:And then we had the Hughes amendment which banned the machine guns and then the nfa.
Speaker A:So number one of the show hashtag repeal the nfa.
Speaker A:You know, we just need to get our rights back and bring in all these cool products because we all want them.
Speaker A:I want machine guns, I want the cool stuff we see over in Europe.
Speaker A:Why, why are we being restricted only because of a feature or because it doesn't meet a certain requirement on parts or there's not enough USA made parts to be put into it.
Speaker A:I just think it's ridiculous that they're infringing on that because of these small minute things that they decided to regulate.
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:You know, and the, when you actually dig into those and you look at the different XM laws that are in place, a lot of times a lot of those things are buried in other legislation and exactly what you said, misplaced blame.
Speaker B:Things are happening at such a high level and then the trickle down effect is that the regular person doesn't really realize who has been making these decisions and how long certain things have been in place.
Speaker A:Yeah, most people don't realize and I know Kaylee has talked about this before, but gun control is hidden in the weirdest of bills.
Speaker A: y'll hide it in there on page: Speaker A:They have to be these large drawn out page bills.
Speaker A:And they keep saying, well vote now, read later.
Speaker A:No, we have to find these infringements and get them out of there before they even hit the floor of the Senate or Congress.
Speaker C:Going to be faster to win the fight before it gets to the courts.
Speaker C:The courts are great and we absolutely need to continue to fight in the courts.
Speaker C:But I mean it's been a long time since the bump stock ban and we're still fighting it in court.
Speaker C:It's not in Amazon age.
Speaker C:The court system is not that instant gratification that you're looking for.
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:And that's another problem.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:We have legislators and representatives that have lost sight of their own responsibilities.
Speaker B:When you get into the perspective of pass now, read later, there is not a higher responsibility for them than to know what they're voting on.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean we've talked to or Kale has brought up that they'll hide gun control in these bills but they won't spell it out as gun or they won't spell it out as firearm.
Speaker A:They know what they're doing, they're hiding it in there.
Speaker A:I really thank our Federal affairs team because they have to sit there and sift through these bills.
Speaker A:And control F is not a fun function when you have to sift through these bills because they are not spelling out gun completely.
Speaker A:There may be a space or there may be a period or something in between where they're hiding this in there.
Speaker A:And I applaud all our Federal affairs people for having to sit there and sift through these thousands of page bills to find these constitutional infringing acts or legislation.
Speaker B:And honestly, they get them in the 11th hour.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So it's not like they've got weeks to do it either.
Speaker B:They're putting these things together.
Speaker B:They're purposely delivering them at the last minute.
Speaker B:And, and it causes that culture of rushing to be able to make a decision.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And beyond making a decision for themselves, they're making a decision for you.
Speaker C:And I think that part of the reason why they give such a small amount of time is they're fearful of GOA and our members.
Speaker C:If we can have time to put an alert out, they know that they're going to get thousands of phone calls.
Speaker C:They know that they're going to get thousands of emails.
Speaker C:And so I almost think it's a game for them of like, can, can we get this in without them noticing?
Speaker C:Because our members are very vocal, very strong and they will come and comment and call and then if you do vote the wrong way, they're going to vote against you.
Speaker C:When it comes to the election cycle, I mean, there's a very famous line that says, when I feel the heat, I see the light.
Speaker C:And in politics, that's really what you have to do.
Speaker C:We have to turn up the heat so that these politicians see the light and understand that, hey, this is a right, it is a natural right.
Speaker C:And it is not something that I as a representative have the power to regulate.
Speaker C:I should be working to restore it because that's what's going to be best for not only our country, but for all of humanity.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:The GOA members are a force to be reckoned with.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:You're going to, you're going to hear, and I definitely feel like that's been proven several times.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And it's, it is a good reminder and I think that there are many times in which our representatives need a good reminder as to why they are there and who they work for.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C: iefly plug this because it is: Speaker C:And you'll be surprised of how many people believe that they are in.
Speaker C:Oh, I'm in a great, I'm in a great district.
Speaker C:I have a super strong conservative leader.
Speaker C:And then they go and they look at our grade and they're like C minus.
Speaker C:But, but his commercials say, you know, I am a gun owner and I believe in your second Amendment right.
Speaker C:And it's like, well, then he should vote that way.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker C:Like we're, we're unbiased here.
Speaker C:GOA exists for, for one reason and one reason only, and that's to protect, defend and restore the second Amendment.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:And you know, I've been ragging fairly hard on, on our representatives, but I mean, it is on us as well.
Speaker B:That, that's a perfect example.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:You need to know who you're voting for and you need to know what they truly stand for.
Speaker B:And if you can't do that, if you can't do your own research and understand that piece, then you don't have the, you know, the standing to be able to question them and hold them accountable.
Speaker B:Because if you put them in there and that's what they stand for, you're, you're in the chain of problem.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You can't always vote by letter next to the name.
Speaker A:You know, got to make sure that you're doing your research and understanding that what the candidate stands for.
Speaker A:And if you don't, well, I'm sorry.
Speaker B:It's why primaries are so important.
Speaker B:A lot of people like to wait till then because then they just look at the color or look at the letter and say, okay, here we go.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:In the primaries is where you, you know, you weed out the problem.
Speaker B:It's where you weed out those that do, you know, walk different than they talk.
Speaker C:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker C:And you know, listen, the three of us, we've all worked in marketing.
Speaker C:We all understand, you know, how the sausage is made, so to speak.
Speaker C:You can make anything look good.
Speaker C:You can put lipstick on a pig, it's still going to be a pig.
Speaker C:And so, you know, understanding the true character of someone is hard, especially when, you know, they can, they can say things and look really pretty on camera and deliver a great punchline, but if it doesn't, if their word isn't a value, then it's not worth sending them to represent you.
Speaker C:My, my grandfather, in all of his infinite wisdom when he was alive, would always say, your truth only matters if it's worth standing on.
Speaker C:And a lot of them would be in free fall.
Speaker A:Yeah, couldn't agree more.
Speaker C:All right, well, thanks for joining us on this episode.
Speaker C:It was phenomenal having you.
Speaker C:Would you like to plug anything?
Speaker B:You know, I really appreciate the two of you and having me on.
Speaker B:I appreciate being able to talk about these things and hopefully help spark others to make sure that they're talking about them again within their own communities.
Speaker B:I encourage everybody.
Speaker B:If you would like to follow me on Killflash Photography, I am starting that company that we talked about.
Speaker B:It's called Republic of Arizona Research and Razor for short and so hopefully we'll see some growth in there as well.
Speaker A:Hope so.
Speaker A:Can't wait to see what you do next.
Speaker A:You've been such a good friend and I really do appreciate you joining us for all of these out there.
Speaker A:Go follow Jordan over at Killflash Photography.
Speaker A:Make sure to like, share and subscribe.
Speaker A:Hit the little bell for notifications, leave a five star review on all podcasting hosts and have a great rest of your day.
