If you've been paying attention to social media following the horrible tragedy in Parkland, Flordia you know there have been several controversies in the firearms community. One of the more notable ones involves X-Products CEO James Malarkey stating that he believes “gun ownership is a privilege.” The statement was part of a detailed Facebook post on his personal page detailing a plan for a licensing system for gun ownership.

X-Products became well known for producing the Can Cannon as well as highly detailed 50-round drum magazines for AR-15, SR-25, HK33/HK53, M1A, HK91/G3, and Glock firearms.

Yesterday, we reached out to X-Products for clarification on Malarkey's posts as well as the call to raise money for a gun control group that his wife, Amanda Razey-Malarkey, posted on her personal Facebook page asking for donations to Everytown for Gun Safety in lieu of birthday gifts. Today at 12:49 CST, Malarkey replied via email; some of the questions he answered, and others he doesn't quite address the question at all.

OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM X-PRODUCTS CEO JAMES MALARKEY

Malarkey opened the email with the below statement:

I’m a gun owner of every type of gun.

I’m a strong supporter of the 2 nd Amendment

Amendment I strongly believe in the right to free speech

I believe as an industry we need to lead the discussion of firearm rights I believe firearm ownership is inalienable right and we should be allowed to own all types of firearms. As a community, it is our civic duty is to enforce responsible gun ownership and make improvements to systems that protect those rights. Continually, our community is under immense pressure to address problems that are difficult to debate. There is an innate fear of dealing with repercussions of the public when addressing these hot button issues. I also believe that if we continue to avoid these issues, legislators will draft laws that are unfavorable to the 2A community. As an industry member I felt obligated to present a process that systematically reinforced ownership, eliminated registration and allowed unlimited ownership of new NFA weapons. The goal of my post was to illicit thought and provoke discussions. These points were meant to be argued, and contested, with an end goal to find a positive solution that protects our rights and safety of US citizens. I apologize for calling the 2nd Amendment a right and a privilege, it is a god given right, however if we do not work together and openly discuss solutions we will continue to have our rights chipped away.

MALARKEY'S RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONS ASKED

RECOIL: James has been quoted as saying that firearm ownership is a ‘privilege' and he outlined a licensing system that would further regulate firearm ownership.

Malarkey: Please see my public Statement ” I apologize for calling the 2nd Amendment a right and a privilege, it is a god given right, however if we do not work together and openly discuss solutions we will continue to have our rights chipped away.”

RECOIL: A woman named Amanda Razey-Malarkey has been identified as James' wife by another media outlet. In a December 28th post, she calls for donations to Everytown for Gun Safety instead of gifts for her birthday. Is this, in fact, the CEO's wife and does James support her actions in calling for donations to a gun control group?

Malarkey: My wife makes her own decisions, I do not consult her or recommend the charities she contributes. (Please remove her from any further commentary)

RECOIL: Does James still feel as though magazines should be subject to “some kind of licensing” and does X-Products stand behind James' belief that a licensing system would “weed out a lot of crime?”

Malarkey: Please read my original post in it's [sic] entirety. It was written to parallel today's laws, with some stipulations, while allowing us unlimited access to new manfactured [sic] NFA items.

RECOIL: Has X-Products turned off reviews and is actively screening comments on their Facebook page? It appears that potential customers have questions about the above issues and are not able to make those posts or receive input from X-Products as a result.

Malarkey: People are more than welcome to comment on the pages or send us messages.

WHAT SPURRED THE QUESTIONS? HERE'S THE BACKSTORY

The below posts sparked outrage on many social media sites, if you haven't seen them yet, they are posted below.

THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME MALARKEY HAS SUGGESTED LICENSING IN REGARDS TO FIREARMS.

In a 2016 CNN article Malarkey was quoted saying, “Instead of outright banning it, allow people to have some kind of licensing,” he said. “I think it would weed out a lot of crime.”

Following that statement, X-Products issued a statement to The Truth About Guns where Malarkey stated, “The interview I had was 30 minutes long and I was asked a variety of questions and they just took bits and pieces from the segment. The only thing I said was I would consider a step licensing law where we had access to everything… But it was the only thing I’d consider as a middle ground if there were no other options, I didn’t agree that we need licensing.”

IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT X-PRODUCTS REPOSTED MALARKEY'S STATEMENT WITH A DISCLAIMER.

X-Products reposted a portion of Malarkey's statement to RECOIL with the disclaimer that it did not reflect the views of X-Products, its staff, or industry partners.

What do you think about the controversy surrounding X-Products CEO James Malarkey?