（2018年3月29日）據美國《商業內幕》報道，在公眾要求加大槍枝管制力度的壓力下，美國最大的槍枝生產商之一雷明頓戶外公司於25日申請破產保護，並與債權人達成了削減債務的協議。
該公司列出的資產和負債均在5億至10億美元之間（1美元約合6.2元人民幣）。
2018年2月，美國最老牌槍枝製造商雷明頓宣布了將把公司的控制權轉讓給債權人，從而減少9.5億美元（約合59億元人民幣）債務的協議。
該申請是在2月14日佛羅里達州帕克蘭一高中發生槍擊事件後提交的。該起槍擊事件導致17人死亡，並促使活動人士發起了一場激烈的控槍活動。
此槍擊案也促成了3月25日在華盛頓舉行的大型反槍枝集會，成千上萬名美國年輕人參與其中。
在美國數十年來規模最大的青年示威遊行中，抗議者呼籲立法官員和總統特朗普正視控槍問題。人群中也包括了多名選民登記活動人士，他們登記了美國全國數千名最年輕的選民。
美國一些大型公司及零售商已採取措施來限制槍枝銷售。
花旗集團表示，將要求設立的零售部門客戶只向通過背景調查的客戶出售槍枝，並禁止銷售高容量彈夾。
花旗還表示，將限制21歲以下買家購買槍枝。其他大型零售商也採取了這一舉措，而克羅格公司旗下的連鎖超市Fred Meyer則表示，將完全停止銷售槍枝。
控制雷明頓的私人股權投資公司——賽伯勒斯資本管理公司將在破產中失去所有權。
據路透社報道，雷明頓的債權人包括富蘭克林鄧普頓投資公司和摩根大通資產管理公司，他們將把所持債券換成雷明頓的股權。
債權人在帕克蘭槍擊事件發生前簽署了減債協議，目前還不清楚是否有債權人退出。重組支持協議允許債權人出售其持有的股份，但買方受到該交易約束。
一位投資者告訴路透社旗下的《國際金融評論》稱，他的公司曾考慮過購買雷明頓的貸款，這些貸款將被轉換成股票。
「退出是因為我們對此交易帶來的社會影響感到不適」，他表示。
在2012年的康乃狄克州桑迪·胡克小學槍擊事件中，兇手使用了雷明頓一款步槍，導致20名兒童和6名成人死亡。賽伯勒斯曾試圖出售當時名為「自由組織」的雷明頓公司，但並未成功。
桑迪·胡克受害家庭的代理律師哈格在一份事先準備好的聲明中表示，她不認為槍枝製造商的破產會影響到針對在槍擊案中使用雷明頓手槍的案件審理。
隨著對更嚴格槍枝管制的擔憂逐漸消退，雷明頓和其他槍枝製造商在過去一年中遭受了銷量下滑的困擾。
美國戶外品牌公司執行長表示，自佛羅里達州高中槍擊事件後，有一些槍枝零售商報告稱銷售額增加了。該公司製造了在這起槍擊案中使用的Smith & Wesson手槍。
根據破產條例第十一條，雷明頓在德拉瓦地區的美國破產法院申請破產保護。（編譯/趙蕤詩）
‘The Trump slump’: Remington files for bankruptcy as gun sales tumble
With Trump in the White House, America’s gun manufacturers are in trouble after a golden era under Barack Obama
Dominic Rushe in New York
Tue 13 Feb 2018 17.48 GMTLast modified on Thu 15 Feb 2018 11.25 GMT
Custom Remington pistols displayed at the 146th NRA annual meetings & exhibits on 29 April 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images
For 200 years, Remington has been one of the most famous names in guns, supplying arms to soldiers in the civil war, both world wars and to generations of gun enthusiasts. Now it has met its match: the gun-friendly presidency of Donald Trump.
After a golden era of sales under Barack Obama, America’s gun manufacturers are in trouble. Sales have tumbled, leaving the companies with too much stock on their hands and falling revenues. The crunch claimed its biggest victim this week when Remington filed for bankruptcy.
The move does not mean the end. Remington is using the US’s chapter 11 bankruptcy law to offload $700m of its $950m in debt, and to restructure the company. But it does underscore the level of distress in the industry.
In December, American Outdoor Brands, the owner of Smith & Wesson, reported that its profits had fallen 90% year over year, from $32m to just $3.2m. Sales fell 36%. Last October, Sturm Ruger, the US’s largest firearm manufacturer, announced its quarterly revenues had fallen 35%. Both companies will report their latest results shortly but neither is expected to announce a dramatic increase in sales.
「They call it the Trump slump,」 said Robert Spitzer, a professor at the State University of New York at Cortland and the author of five books on guns.
「Gun sales have become politicized to a great degree,」 he said. 「Gun purchases recently have been made not just because someone wants a new product but to make a statement; not just because of fears that there might be tighter regulation but also to make a statement against Obama.」
With Trump in the White House, said Spitzer, gun sales had sharply defaulted to their long-term trend of declining ownership rates.
「Gun ownership has been declining since the 1970s and there are now fewer gun owners than ever,」 said Spitzer. Fewer people are hunting, younger people are less interested in gun ownership and the gun industry has had little success in its attempts to appeal to women and minorities.
The US has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world with 88 guns for every 100 people. But just 3% of the population owns an average of 17 guns each, with an estimated 7.7 million super-owners in possession of between eight and 140 guns apiece.
The surge of gun purchases under Obama was largely driven by sales to existing gun owners. Sales spiked on Obama’s re-election and after his calls for new lawsin the wake of tragedies like the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults.
Remington, owned by Cerberus Capital Management, made the Bushmaster AR-15 style rifle that was used in the Connecticut shooting. The company is being sued by the parents of the victims in the Connecticut supreme court.
After the shooting, Cerberus, whose billionaire chief executive Stephen Feinberg was a major Trump supporter, came under pressure from its investors to sell Remington.
But Cerberus struggled to find a buyer for the company and settled for letting its investors sell their shares in the company. The bankruptcy agreement will let Cerberus sever its ties with Remington.
Mass shootings continued apace every year since 2012, including the worst attack in modern US history last year, when a gunman killed 58 people and himself in Las Vegas. But with no threat of tighter gun laws, the gun industry has not seen the sales boost that mass killings produced under the Obama administration.
Spitzer said there may be better news ahead for the gun companies. In November, Americans return to the polls again for midterm elections, raising the possibility of major gains by Democrats, given Trump’s historically low poll numbers and a pattern of poor performance for the president’s party in midterms.
「If the Democrats do well, the gun industry and the NRA [National Rifle Association] will no doubt use it as an opportunity to issue dire warnings about gun rights. Their aim is to press as many guns into the hands of as many people as possible,」 Spitzer said.
This article was amended on 14 February 2018 to reflect that America’s gun super-owners hold between eight and 140 guns apiece.