Company gifts all employees with handguns for Christmas
HORTONVILLE, Wis. (WAVY) – A Wisconsin glassmaking company gifted all of their employees with handguns for Christmas.
The company says every employee received a gun of their choice.
In a picture the Hortonville-based company BenShot posted on Facebook, 19 employees are seen holding their new firearms.
According to their website, the company creates bulletproof glasses.
When WISH sister station WFRV posted an article about the unique choice for a holiday gift, it immediately caught the nation’s attention. Many on social media were curious about background checks.
Ben Wolfgram, the son in the father and son team at BenShot, and Media Relations Manager Chelsea Priest spoke to WFRV and explained that the guns were picked out by each employee, meaning background checks were conducted at the point of purchase.
They said BenShot asked their employees to visit a local gun store of their choice and select the gun they wanted. The company then provided a gift card with a value of $500 to go towards the final purchase. Some employees bought guns that were more expensive than $500, but the employees made up the difference.
Wolfgram said in Wisconsin, background checks are pretty quick.
“After returning to the local gun store with the gift card employees received their gun within about an hour or so of the check.”
The Christmas gift didn’t end there. Wolfgram said the company brought in and paid for a gun safety seminar by MK Protection Strategies, a certified gun safety training provider and that most employees attended.
BenShot initially said the employees received handguns, but since they got to select the gun, not all were handguns. The company also clarified that two female employees declined the option to buy a gun, even after attending the safety training, so they received a $500 Visa gift card instead.
In asking where the idea to gift guns came from Ben and Chelsea explained they wanted to give a gift that was “fun and memorable.”
They said the gift wasn’t as random as it may have seemed; the company as a whole embraces gun culture and is famous for making glassware with a bullet embedded in it.
Chelsea said they knew the gift would generate some local attention, but they didn’t expect this big of a response nationwide.
“We knew it would catch traction, but the support of the customers and the gun community has been very exciting.
We’re so grateful for the overwhelming support.”