Daniel Defense, the company that made the gun used by the Robb Elementary shooter, has been handed over 100 federal contracts.
Sarah Lazare May 27, 2022
In response to the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 children and two adults dead, President Biden called for a reckoning. “As a nation, we have to ask, ‘When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” he said on Tuesday. “When in God’s name do we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?”
Yet, his call stands in tension with the U.S. role in global arms purchases. The military that Biden oversees is reliant on a weapons industry that overlaps with the domestic gun industry and, in some cases, these industries are one and the same — a reality put horrifically on display in Uvalde.
Daniel Defense Inc. is a Georgia-based company that manufactured the DDM4 Rifle used by Salvador Ramos to carry out the mass shooting at Robb Elementary. Earlier this year, the company struck a contract for up to $9.1 million with the Pentagon. The deal was announced March 23 for the production of 11.5” and 14.5” cold hammer-forged barrels for the Upper Receiver Group – Improved.” This product refers to barrels that are used for rifles. The upper receiver is what contains the bolt, which is where the rifle cartridge sits.
The company has received more than 100 federal contracts, and even a few loans, a search through a government spending tracker shows. As the New York Times noted May 26, this includes a pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program loan of $3.1 million. The contracts date back to at least 2008, when the government spending tracker was created, and most were made with the Department of Defense, but others with the Departments of Justice (U.S. Marshall Service), Homeland Security, State, and Interior.
Daniel Defense prides itself on making assault rifles, including those used by civilians. The company calls itself “one of the most recognizable brands in the firearms world, consisting of the world’s finest AR15-style rifles, pistols, bolt-action rifles, and accessories for civilian, law enforcement, and military customers.”
These are exactly the kinds of weapons that Democrats concerned about the proliferation of assault rifles say they want to regulate.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D‑N.Y.) recently gave the green light to Democrats to push for a bipartisan piece of gun legislation following the Memorial Day recess, after slamming the Republican Party on Wednesday for its “obeisance to the NRA.”
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