Hey, did you hear what’s going on at Kittery Trading Post, that beloved ‘guns n’ gear’ retail store in Kittery, Maine, established 80 years ago in 1938, by and for hunters, shooting sports enthusiasts and fishermen? You know the place — it put the Town of Kittery on the map. The store is commonly known as “Kittery” and as it expanded and drew more customers over the years, retail stores, restaurants and name-brand outlets cropped up, creating a shoppers’ utopia — and thousands of jobs. If it weren’t for Kittery and those who pursue the field sports with rod and gun and the shooting sports, Route 1 in the Town of Kittery probably would look like a nondescript rural route in Anytown, USA. And a lot of people wouldn’t have those jobs.
Well, a group of do-gooders now is boycotting Kittery because the store and its owner, Kevin Adams, have refused to answer a letter from Maine and New Hampshire lawmakers, requesting the store to stop selling what they call “assault weapons.” I say good for Kittery for sticking to their guns and not buckling to threats. Kittery hasn’t forgotten which side of the tracks they came from and who made them — and the town itself — what they are today.
Kittery also has been silent about an online petition, initiated by residents in March, following the Parkland High School shooting, demanding that the store stop selling “assault-type rifles and high capacity magazines” — or face a boycott.
According to an article in seacoastline.com in March, Kristen Swann, one of the petitioners, said, “We’re just asking Kittery Trading Post to discontinue the sale of assault-style weapons and high capacity magazines.”
No, they’re not asking. It’s a threat. They’re telling
