Dear Mark Muller,
I've just now learned of your promotional campaign at Max Motors, Butler, MO. Yes, the one where you give away a voucher good for one AK-47 assault rifle, or any other firearm of equal value.
In an interview with CNN, you mention that part of the reasoning behind this campaign is the “tremendous crime problem” in the Bates community “with people doing meth. These people have lost their souls. They don’t care about you, they don’t care about me, they care about one thing: getting more dope.” You state that the police response time to your home is fifteen minutes, and given that fact, “The only 911 call I need is chambering a round.”
In the same interview, you also state that “The purpose for guns like AK-47s is home defence.”
To your credit, this altruistic mindset is much more than we, the public, expect from sales campaigns nowadays, more often than not conceived by cynical lowlifes motivated purely by profits, all-too-willing to capitalize on a weak-minded consumer base. However, your humanitarian efforts aside, Mr. Muller, I think there are a few facts you’re overlooking, and I’d like to shed some light on them for you.
The AK-47 was designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in response to the Soviet army’s experience in the Second World War. Firearm design on the Eastern Front was dominated by bolt-action and semiautomatic weapons; although submachine guns were present their limitations in power and accuracy made them unsuitable for ranged combat. The AK-47 was designed to bridge the gap between submachine gun and rifle, to give the Soviet soldier a high rate of fire, using a cartridge powerful enough to engage targets out to 300 meters.
A home defence weapon, this isn’t.
The Kalashnikov family of assault rifles has been, and remains, the most successful firearm design in human history, and I mean successful in every sense of the word. To put it in perspective, the World Bank estimates that out of the 500 million total firearms available worldwide, 100 million are of the Kalashnikov family. More AK-type rifles have been produced than all other assault rifles combined. The AK-type rifle has been present in every conflict on every continent since its design, and it is the firearm of choice for more than 50 standing armies worldwide. It is estimated that the Kalashnikov family of rifles are responsible for the deaths of a quarter of a million people per year.
A home defence weapon, this isn’t.
According to “An accounting of daily gun deaths,” by Bill Marsh of the New York Times, “In 2004, the most recent year for which figures are available, an average of about 81 people died every day from gunfire in the United States… All told, 29, 569 people were killed that year by firearms… Another 64, 389 were injured, about 176 per day.” According to Bureau of Justice statistics (1997), 35% of firearms possessed by Federal inmates were obtained from family or friends.
In interview, you stated that last year’s sales campaign, wherein you gave vehicle purchasers a voucher for a handgun, “went over very well,” resulting in an estimated 35 sales above your mean over the promotion period. This year, your goal is an extra 100 vehicles.
I’m not privy to your sales statistics, so I’m going to assume a few things here. Let’s say last year’s promotion increased your sales by a generous 25%, putting your mean sales at 140 vehicles between your six dealerships over the tracked period. So, last year, because of your promotion, 175 handguns entered the Bates community. This year, if your sales numbers haven’t changed too much, you will be responsible for over 200 new assault rifles, or guns of equal value, in the Butler community. A community which, by my estimation, is already fairly well armed.
Mr. Muller, encouraging the presence of this deadly weapon in your community is despicable. In a small town such as Butler, 375 firearms represent just over 20% of the 1723 households.
Where, Mark, is your soul?
Instead of arming your community, why not donate $450 per vehicle sale to your local police department in order to shorten that fifteen minute response time. Being a good Christian, as you so openly protest in interview, why not donate $450 per vehicle sale to Bates county drug rehabilitation centers to help - and not kill - the poor, soulless drug-addicts you cite as justification for arming your community. Instead of a drug rehab centre, what about a food drive? A women’s shelter? New bibles for the church? New textbooks for the schools? With 10% of families, and 14% of the total population in Bates county living below the poverty line, supporting – and not arming – the community seems like the altruistic path any good, selfless, compassionate Christian would follow.
But what do I know? I don’t own any guns.
Yours,
John
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