Colt suspends AR-15 production

The gun-maker said it is shifting focus to fulfilling military and police contracts. Colt said Thursday that it is suspending production of its rifles for the civilian market, including the semi-automatic AR-15. Colt CEO Dennis Veilleux said in a statement that the company remains committed to the Second Amendment.

Is this an ideological or a business decision? Colt said similar weapons have saturated the U.S. market and changes in consumer demand drove the decision. “The fact of the matter is that over the last few years, the market for modern sporting rifles has experienced significant excess manufacturing capacity,” Veilleux said. “Given this level of manufacturing capacity, we believe there is adequate supply for modern sporting rifles for the foreseeable future.”

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about Walmart and Kroger limiting their gun sales and open-carry policies earlier this month.