Anthony Colandro. Image via NRABlog.com.

Last week, we ran a story reporting on NRA Board member Anthony Colandro posing with some “gun safety literature” that’s produced by Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety. Since that story ran, we’ve received a lot of communications of high praise for Mr. Colandro’s 2A bonafides. The consensus is that the brochures were just an honest mistake.

Mr. Colandro, working from deep behind enemy lines in New Jersey, has his hands more than full. Between the rabidly anti-gun and borderline incompetent tyrant Governor Phil Murphy and the state’s equally hoplophobic Attorney General, New Jersey is a cesspool when it comes to civil rights. Specifically the right to keep and bear arms.

The story about an NRA board member featured in a local publication promoting an Everytown-produced “gun safety” brochure caught our eye. I called and wrote asking for a comment and to his credit, Mr. Colandro replied promptly.

We included excerpts of his reply in our post. To be fair, the brochures didn’t exactly scream “Everytown.” Nor does the “Be Smart” website Everytown created, until you scroll all the way to the bottom of the home page.

It’s worth noting that Mr. Colandro has a very successful gun rights-focused podcast which has a wide reach. It’s just one of a myriad of ways that he’s been fighting the good fight on the front lines in the not-so-gun-friendly Garden State.

And he’s done it without without working with the other side to further limit or curtail our freedoms. That’s in stark contrast to another 2A personality/instructor/influencer of who has come out in support of expanding the requirement for background checks on private gun transfers. Someone who is partnered with the former head of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Handgun Ownership —  or whatever their organization’s name is this week — to promote more freedom control.

Between the many character references and respectable people singing Mr. Colandro’s praises, and his acknowledgement that he failed to vet the materials, it seems as though the BeSmart brochures were nothing more than a simple mistake.

So maybe we were a little hasty pushing the ‘publish’ button on that post. Word has it that the Everytown materials are no longer featured in Mr. Colandro’s shop, nor are they provided to every gun permit applicant any longer. That’s a win for safety and for gun rights.

Thank you, Mr. Colandro for the work you do. None of us walks on water and this speaks volumes for your character and your dedication to gun rights. And if you’re ever in Central Illinois, look me up and we’ll share a cigar or better yet, two. And maybe an adult beverage.

 

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26 COMMENTS

  1. “The consensus is that the brochures were just an honest mistake.”

    Sorry, but you can’t fix stupid.

    • I agree Ralph! Boch said I should forgive Springfield too(or did he?). Ain’t happening!

      • Colandro Zumboed himself. He Zumboed himself! What a maroon!

        Pro Tip: Nobody should ever Zumbo himself. Even Ted Nugent can’t save everyone the way he tried to save Zumbo.

        • I know Anthony Colandro, I used to go to his range, and no one is more pro-2A than he is. If he made a mistake by not reading the brochures throughly, it is a mistake and nothing more. He has never actually said anything that could be construed as appeasement of the antigun crowd.

  4. A Manchurian Candidate will play his assigned part until told to obey his communist orders.

  5. I seem to have stumbled into a snowflake cancel culture meeting here. I’m amazed to find so many perfect people congregated in one place. Have none of you ever made an honest mistake? This is the reason we aren’t gaining more ground in some places.

    If Mr. Colandro has admitted his mistake and pledged to do better in the future, I’m going to accept him at his word.

    • I’d rather see what he does than listen to what he says. Anybody can say “I’m sorry.” It’s especially easy for someone to say they’re sorry when they don’t mean it.

    • I must have stumbled into a Fudd flannel lovers convention.

      The dude was photographed working/hanging out with Everytown, if he does not have even a shred of commonsense to think that it might be a bad idea to do this then he clearly will not have the smarts to keep from selling our gun rights down the drain for “Common Sense” gun reform…

  7. I never heard of this guy before or after reading about him here. Is he some kind of celebrity? I am supposed to know who this is? Am I supposed to care?

  8. I know Anthony personally. I’m a member of his range. He is no “manchurian candidate.” He is the real deal and is a tireless defender of freedom. He’s been down in Trenton marching with us. And he runs a beautiful range. This is why the other side has gotten so far. Because we eat our own. Show a little grace and save your venom for the real enemies of freedom. Nothing more to see here.

    • My take isn’t that “we eat our own” about some of these comments here about this Colandro person, or whoever he is…… What I see is POTG who have been abused to the point that WE DON’T TRUST ANYONE……. PERIOD……
      Let alone some dude who has already proven he will promote what the other side wants…..
      So, either he’s working with the other side, or he can’t be trusted. There’s no other way to view this… because, like I said he’s proven himself a fence sitter…..
      idc what kind of range he owns and idc if you think he’s cool so everyone else should…. if you f up you need to face the criticism and don’t let it happen again…. accept the well deserved scorn….

      • Anthony Colandro is many things… “fence sitter” is not one of them. He is about the staunchest 2A supporter here in communist NJ. He has been screwed over professionally and personally because of his standing up to the radical gun control Democrats here in NJ. I need to look more into this situation. But as far as I am concerned Anthony has earned the benefit of several doubts.

  9. If his track record is clean and he admits fault, I’ll give the benefit of the doubt provided future behavior bears out that truth. Everyone is so quick to judge and castigate at a time when, frankly, the 2A group needs to seriously close ranks and fight the good fight.

    TL:DR – People dick up, so don’t be a dick.

  10. I’d love to see you nay sayers stack up your 2A credentials against Anthony’s. No one fights harder for our rights here in this commie state than Anthony Colandro, he’s as stand up as you get and puts his money where his mouth is, he’s constantly traveling in our defense, the writer of the article rightly corrected his mistake in jumping the gun. End of story.

  11. Congratulations for running with a nothing of a story. The author went for the clickbait title and a ridiculous story that could’ve been cleared up with a few phone calls. That’s obviously what happened to get a retraction this quickly. Comment section is full of snowflakes being idiots. While Anthony Colandro, 30 years deep in the 2A fight, keeps fighting the good fight. Do better.

  12. I have personally known Anthony since 2001 and can attest to his SA bona fides. Some of the comments here are a perfect example of why the gun grabbers minority view has made such undeserved progress.

  14. The problem we have today is exhibited quite clearly here. Everyone doesn’t think their own shit stinks and that they are perfect.

    Don’t know who this man is, but it is pretty clear by the three seconds I spent googling his name and going thought results he is very pro 2A.

    I wonder if any of the perfect people above and below have done anything close to promoting 2A rights like this gentleman? Well, we don’t need your answers because anyone with some grey matter to rub around in their head knows the answers is a SOLID NO.

    So in conclusion all the ones reaming this gentleman for making a mistake can get bent and go back to their holes. Happy Easter 😀

  15. Maybe a little hasty? Next time do some research before throwing meat to Jacobins in here.

    • Colandro is no 2A hero. He coddles his democrat customers and local politicians who are anti gun all because it keeps the cash register humming. Let him publicly denounce this brochure and the local policeand the stigma group for giving it out instead of nra safety materials. Better yet, get those groups to distribute NRA safety materials. Colandro won’t do that or even attempt to do it.

      • You need to go back and try, I know it’s hard, to read the original article. Those materials did not replace NRA materials, they were available along with NRA materials on secure storage.

        Did you ever stop to think that maybe their plan, or at least an alternative outcome, was to catch up Colandro as being AGAINST secure storage of firearms from unauthorized persons by denying them permission to place those materials?

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