Not content with unilaterally banning so-called assault weapons in the Bay State (never mind the resulting blowback she’s gotten, even from those her own party) Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has two new targets in her hoplophobic sights; Remington and GLOCK.
As the Boston Globe reports,
“Attorney General Maura Healey has launched a sweeping investigation into possible safety problems involving guns manufactured by at least two major companies, Remington and Glock, according to lawsuits filed by both firms, which are fighting Healey’s efforts. The lawsuits reveal that this year, Healey invoked her powers under the state’s consumer protection law to demand that both companies turn over a wide range of documents, including safety-related complaints from customers and the companies’ responses.
The AG’s made what her PR flack calls “a simple request for consumer complaints and related information.” Uh huh. In response, the companies have sued her in an effort to stop the harassment. They argue “that she is abusing her authority by casting a broad net for documents, including those related to accidental discharges, past lawsuits, legal settlements, and product recalls.”
In going after GLOCK, she’s investigating a company (under color of the state’s consumer protections laws) that’s prohibited from selling its products to Massachusetts consumers.
Glocks can be sold only to law enforcement officers in Massachusetts, because consumer sales are banned under state law. As such, Glock argues, Healey is misusing her investigative powers “for the ulterior purpose of harassing an out-of-state company that does not engage in in-state consumer sales.”
As for Remington, the AG is trying to bury them in paperwork.
Remington Arms Co., based in Madison, N.C., contends Healey’s investigation is “unreasonable and excessively burdensome” because she is seeking product files from every state and country, even though fewer than 1 percent of the files relate to Massachusetts customers.
Because Healey’s office “has provided virtually no information concerning the subject or object of its investigation, one cannot imagine what possible relevance product service files from Hawaii or Manitoba, Canada, could have on the AG’s investigation in Massachusetts,” Remington states in its lawsuit, filed Monday.
Oh wait. Maybe we can. She’s using the almost unlimited investigatory power of her office to harass two producers of legal consumer goods she finds distasteful and politically convenient to attack.
Healey’s obviously made the political calculation that in deep blue Massachusetts, any downside of going after gun owners and manufacturers is more than outweighed by the benefits she’ll accrue among the state’s ultra-liberal voting base. The sad part is, she’s probably right.