It is really surprising how ignorant some companies are of their customer base. Even gun writers like Dick Metcalf stepped on his...well you know. Leatherman hosts Obama and when I wrote to them the CEO replied with a whiny petulant rant.
As an average Joe all I know is that every gun owner I know also carries a folder and probably has more than one quality knife. On the other hand, I don’t know any owners of a quality folding knife that is not also a gun owner. Of course there are exceptions in both cases but I believe there is a huge overlap in the Venn diagram of Gun Owners and Benchmade Knife Owners.
If I were a gun supporting company and was asked by the local PD to destroy some guns you can be damn sure I would have the press release right handy explaining why and that we’re having a BBQ with gun raffle giveaway later or something. Lacking this makes me wonder whether they thought at all.
They did think through it, they thought gun owners were all Fox News watchers and listened to Rush Limbaugh, so they love helping cops and will give high praise and support to any company that helps the police.
Except we're not stupid like everybody says, we're SMART and we want RESPECT! Alright, Godfather quotes aside, they thought wrong and I think it's an instinctive reaction with real 2A supporters, not the Fudd's, that when we see police destroying guns or people doing it for the police, it looks like the police are pro-disarmament, which in some cases and localities they are, but largely they're not.
The pics are damaging and make me question what business does Benchmade have in destroying guns? I thought they're in the knife making business, not the gun destruction business? Are they even getting paid for doing this and have they helped police destroy guns before? If they have, then they have no business claiming to be pro gun when all they are doing is destroying them on multiple occasions whilst also not doing anything to support the 2nd amendment other than saying they do, but IMO talk is cheap.
That's all one thing, but then you see how heavily the company donates to Democrats, who are now purely anti-gun, and nothing or very little to non-Democrats.
All the signs point to Benchmade is an anti gun company and as you said, few gun owners don't also own folding knives, especially those who own expensive knives like Benchmade or Microtech.
It is just a massive disaster for the company and they're gonna have to lay people off because business is gonna plummet and I doubt any of the Oregon City PD are going to be buying knives in bulk to help bail out the company for their screw up putting those pic on Social Media.
BTW, who told the officers or Oregon City PD employees to take pics and post them online? Is that standard operating procedure?