Southwest Florida Businessman Responds to Hoffmann Family of Companies’ Gun Stance
July 26, 2022 Updated 6:19 P.M. ET
COLLIER COUNTY (FLV) – Southwest Florida businessman, Miles L. “Rocky” Scofield, responded to an announcement from prominent Naples-based Hoffmann Family of Companies urging lawmakers to institute “restrictive gun laws.”
Hoffmann Family of Companies Co-CEO Geoff Hoffmann released a letter announcing the company would no longer service any retailer, distributor or manufacturer of any semi-automatic or fully-automatic weaponry because of recent gun violence.
Hoffmann cited the 311 mass shootings in 2022 and the 4th of July shootings that have “challenged our beliefs and perceptions of our great country.”
“As many of you know our politics have always run conservative but this is an issue that we simply can no longer overlook,” Hoffmann said. “We will not support any politician with views that support the unbridled sale and usage of automatic and semi-automatic guns that are destroying the composition and fundamental rights of our country.”
Fourth-generation Southwest Floridian and pioneer Miles L. “Rocky” Scofield responded with his own letter saying that the “effects of progressive ideologies” from those moving to “our neck of the woods” in Southwest Florida has “permeated the culture.”
“The Hoffmans have been buying up businesses in and around Naples at a breakneck pace and now the trap has been sprung; those that don’t agree with their politics, they will no longer do business with,” Scofield said.
Scofield provided responses for several of the claims made in Hoffmann’s letter.
HOFFMANN LETTER: “We inherited an America that provided freedom and safety for all its people in their inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness. We must return to this fundamental right. Change can be long and difficult but nevertheless attainable if so desired.”
SCOFIELD RESPONSE: “This statement along with others in his letter shows a complete lack of understanding of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. How does Mr. Hoffman think America came to be free in the first place? Those freedoms were fought and earned by blood and sacrifice. Had there been no guns, there would have been no change and no freedom from the government that oppressed the colonists. This is precisely why our founders saw fit to enshrine the right to bear arms in our nation’s constitution, second to only our right to freely live out our faith and speak our minds.”
HOFFMANN LETTER: “To be clear this is not a call to eliminate the legal usage of shotguns and rifles used in recreational and sporting activities. Rather, this is a plea to eliminate high capacity magazines and the weapons that fire them.”
SCOFIELD RESPONSE: “We have heard this statement many times before from the likes of Joe Biden, Andrew Cuomo, Chuck Schumer and their Democrat (read: socialist) cronies. This is further evidence of their complete ignorance of the purpose of the Second Amendment, which is NOT to secure the right to recreational shooting and hunting.
HOFFMANN LETTER: “We further urge all of you to call on your elected leaders to institute much more restrictive gun laws that ban this type of weaponry from all corners of the country. This includes the implementation of a mental health evaluation in addition to more restrictive red flag laws that would ensure guns are in the hands of mentally stable, law abiding citizens.”
SCOFIELD RESPONSE: “Again, this shows a lack of knowledge about world history, American history and politics. Redflag laws are just another tool in the toolbelt of the State. Redflag laws will completely violate our constitutional rights; illegal search and seizure will become the norm. Most mass shootings could have been avoided by parents, friends and law enforcement paying attention to simple behavioral patterns and social media postings.”
HOFFMANN LETTER: “The violence that plagues our nation has become so commonplace that the carnage of the 4th of July shootings was quickly overshadowed by massive fireworks displays celebrating American idealism. We have grown so accustomed to these heinous acts that we have developed a callus. There have been 311 mass shootings thus far in 2022 in the United States. 311.
SCOFIELD RESPONSE: “Yes, there were 311 mass shootings with 337 killed and 1,391 injured. The first 5 months of this year, there have been 971 shootings in Chicago with 343 killed, scores injured. In 2021 alone, there were 871 homicides in Chicago with 4,300 gunshot victims. Chicago has the most restrictive gun laws in the country and he wants us to believe that guns kill people. The Hoffman family is from Illinois, I would like to know if they have stood against the murders and complete breakdown of society in Chicago, and what they attribute those murders to since guns are illegal there?”
Hoffmann ended his letter by saying America must “act now” to restore American exceptionalism.
“Our pledge as leaders and parents is to leave something behind in better condition than we inherited. We have not lived up to that creed but we can and we will,” Hoffmann said.
Scofield concluded with “Change is inevitable, but it’s how you handle the change that matters. Naples has done a remarkable job in preserving what we have. It’s why everyone wants to come here. The Hoffmans have every right to choose with whom they do business, and so do we!”
