By Michael Howell
Darren Newsom, a successful local businessman with one of the valley’s largest manufacturing firms, got to meet with Donald Trump last week in Las Vegas. Newsom, who owns an ammunition manufacturing plant in Victor and a retail outlet called Ammo and More in Stevensville, had a chance to talk with the Republican presidential candidate and front runner and said he liked what he heard.
Newsom and Trump were in Las Vegas attending the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s annual SHOT Show, the largest industry gathering in the nation. Trump was the only presidential candidate to attend the event. Newsom said he was invited to participate in the talk with Trump by the CEO of the Mule Deer Foundation, Miles Moretti, and jumped at the chance.
Newsom said that Trump was already at the top of his list for presidential candidates, but after getting the chance to have an up close and even one on one conversation with the man, “It took away any doubts I had.”
Like a lot of the people attending the SHOT Show, Newsom had concerns about the erosion of our Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms. The fact that Trump, himself, has a permit for carrying a concealed weapon was a strike in his favor, according to Newsom.
“It shows me that he is not against guns or firearms,” Newsom said.
The Second Amendment is about the right to keep and bear arms to protect ourselves from the government and that’s good, according to Newsom, but it is not the same as hunting.
“The second amendment doesn’t say anything about hunting,” Newsom said.
Regarding hunting, Newsom said that Trump was not that much into hunting himself, but his father was and his father passed that love for hunting and the outdoors on to his grandsons Donald Jr. and Eric.
Newsom said that Donald Jr., whom he got to spend some time with, was a very avid hunter, “even more than I am really.”
Donald Trump Jr., an avid hunter, outdoorsman and conservationist, will be the guest speaker at the annual Western Hunting and Conservation Expo to be held in Salt Lake City February 11-14.
According to Newsom, Trump said that when it came to hunting issues, he would “pick their brains first because they know more about hunting and shooting than he would ever know.”
To see how avid Donald Jr. was about hunting and shooting, to see the photos of his hunting trips and feel the enthusiasm and pride, was a great reassurance for Newsom.
“Those kinds of passions don’t go away,” said Newsom.
Newsom said that both Trump and his son told him that they were concerned about the selling off of federal land and the lack of maintenance of, and access to, the lands they still own and that under his presidency no BLM land would be sold.
In an interview with Field and Stream Magazine while he was at the show, Trump came out loudly against the transfer of federal land to the states. He was quoted in the magazine, saying, “I don’t like the idea because I want to keep the lands great and you don’t know what the state is going to do. I mean, are they going to sell it if they get into a little bit of trouble? And I don’t think it’s something that should be sold. We have to be great stewards of this land… And the hunters do such a great job – I mean the hunters and fishermen and all the different people do such a great job.”
Newsom said that, historically, hunters and shooters don’t get out and vote for some reason, maybe because election season overlaps with the hunting season.
“But he is trying to change that,” said Newsom. “He wanted to get the word out there.”
“I also admire Trump as a businessman,” said Newsom. “Sure, his dad gave him a million bucks, so he started out a million dollars ahead of everybody. But he did not start out billions of dollars ahead of everybody.”
The third major concern that Newsom took to the meeting was about his own business. Not only does the Second Amendment not address hunting issues, it doesn’t address issues about ammunition, either. Making ammo is what Newsom’s business is all about and he took the opportunity to address Trump in a one on one conversation about it.
According to Newsom, Trump told him, “You know, Darren, they want to take away the ammunition too, not just the guns.” Newsom said Trump told him that that wouldn’t happen while he was president.
“As a businessman that’s what I needed to hear,” said Newsom. “It had nothing to do with the Second Amendment, nothing to do with hunting, it was about my livelihood and my business and he guaranteed me that wouldn’t happen. It shows he cares about my business and the regulations being placed upon it.”
Newsom believes that if Trump is elected, it will be good for all small businesses. He said Trump called small businesses the backbone of the country’s economy and if you break the small businesses, you will break the economy.
Newsom said he was honored to be picked to talk with Trump. He said he did not go to college, “I went right to work and to be meeting with Donald Trump was an honor for me. A million other people could have been picked and for him to pick a small businessman like me was a real honor.”
Howard says
“Newsom had concerns about the erosion of our Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.”
On what are these concerns based? What legislation has been enacted in the past few years that has infringed on 2nd amendment rights?
The truth is that, if anything, we have seen an expansion of gun rights over the past several years. Guns are allowed in national parks now. Several large cities have had their bans on handguns and other weapons overturned. People on the right keep repeating this nonsense that they’re “coming for your guns” and everyone believes it. The result is that people saying things like this increases gun and ammo sales, which is what the NRA, gun makers and ammo manufacturers like Mr. Newsom are really interested in.