I don’t know if I like this. This is America...let’s say a guy got fired from a non-profit organization because of his support for McCain? Or a company that publishes magazines for gays? I really don’t like this.
He still owns a large percentage of the company’s stock.
This is CYA pure and simple.
You may not like it, but an officer of a company serves at the pleasure of the board of directors. When a majority of them are no longer pleased, you are no longer an officer. It is entirely possible that he is still with the company, just not in the position of president.
He’s the founder CEO of a gun company and supported quite possibly the most anti-gun candidate ever. Obama getting elected hurts his business. His shareholders and board of directors know this so asked him to resign as CEO.
He is still founder, and still owns considerable stock in his company.
This would effectively be the same as an employee of a company coming out and saying their competitor’s company has better products and you should buy those instead. Fast track to job termination.
If this were a standard average job - maybe not. But, this position is the 'public' face of a corporation. His actions were in DIRECT violation of the goals of the company - to make firearms and most likely will cause financial harm. By supporting Obama and his gun grabbing, he puts the company (and its stockholders) in an untenable position.
Regardless, he should have been fired for his sheer stupidity
They didn't "out him". He took a very conscious, very public stand backing Obama. Obama is in favor of destroying the right that the company is based on. He made himself a millstone around the company's neck.
I'm quite certain that their orders took a huge, instantaneous hit. They are doing damage control.
There is a reason that most businesses don't publicly back a candidate, because it will tick off half their customers. In the firearms business, that number can be more like 95% when you back an anti-rights candidate.
Would you suggest that they lay off all of their employees and close the doors in order to defend his right to use the company as a prop for Obama?
“I don’t know if I like this. This is America...let’s say a guy got fired from a non-profit organization because of his support for McCain? Or a company that publishes magazines for gays? I really don’t like this.”
I say too bad. The liberals have been doing this for years. It’s time for the conservatives to do it too. Nobody violated his freedom of speech. He got to say just what he wanted, but that does not save him from the consequences of his speech.
Why? The people who own the majority of the stock don’t want this person dragging their company down. Gun owners are not like smokers. We don’t roll over easily. If this guy had stayed, the company would have collapsed. It looks like they make nice rifles but that is cold comfort if nobody buys them. They new if they had not acted the NRA would have done it for them.
The guy never had to go public.....Not a good PR move, and the board recognized that. ESPECIALLY in the firearms business...
Personally I think it's totally ignorant of this guy to NOT know Obama's gun record.
“I don’t know if I like this. This is America”
You don’t have to like it, it may not even be warranted, and have every right to speak against it (which you are). The real danger is in govern (a constituted representative) using reprisal/or threats of reprisal to silence someone. Seems Sen. Obama is the one who has done that.
Actually you should like it.
Think about it, this company is worried about it’s employees and shareholders. Put it in perspective rather than trying to equalize it to non profit organizations. One is tax exempt and it does matter (though not with ACORN obviously).
In private and publicly owned companies we should have a right to not employ people we disagree with or that will hurt business. Rethink your argument, and yes this is America and this company is smart though it may be too late for the shareholders.
He was asked to resign. I suppose if he refused, there wouldn’t be a thing anyone could do about it.
He was not fired to censor him. He was fired because he is going to cost his company sales, profits and business.
Gun buyers are generally Republicans and gun banners are generally Democrats. Obama is against guns. When you sell guns for a living, you don’t go on public record supporting a guy who is against the very thing that makes your company money. People who make money selling guns hurt their own business when they support people who are against guns.
This isn’t about censorship. This is about the backlash or boycott that could hurt sales and profits of a gun manufacturer because their owner and name sake supports the anti-gun candidate.
This would be like the CEO of Exxon supporting an anti-oil candidate or the CEO of GM supporting an anti-car Green Party candidate.
It is just plain bad business and you can’t employ someone who is bad for your business. Once they say something that destroys your sales and profits, the company had not choice but to fire him, to limit the damage to profits.
This is not censorship, like firing the janitor or a gun company because he is for Obama. This is business and Cooper is an idiot for saying what he said, knowing that many gun buyers would boycott his product as a result. They had to fire him.
Kind of agree.
I would love to buy a Cooper rifle, but won’t now (probably couldn’t afford one for years anyway). But let the guy be an idiot if he wants to be.
I can understand the board’s move though. Mr. Cooper just doomed the company (see what happened to Smith and Wesson for an example).