Alabama Roofing Company Giving Away Free AR-15 Rifles To Customers, Social Media Backlash Ensues [Video]
Digital Roofing Innovations, an Alabama roofing company, is giving away free AR-15 semi-automatic rifles as part of a Fourth of July promotion. The now viral video advertisement prompted a swift and severe social media response. Some called the “assault rifle” giveaway dangerous and possibly criminal. Second Amendment supporters applauded the Independence Day promotion.
Zach Blenkinsopp, a veteran of the United States Navy, owns the Alabama roofing company. Blenkinsopp starred in the viral video promoting the free AR-15 giveaway by Digital Roofing Innovations. The muscular veteran was clad in just a pair of shorts, a cowboy hat, and patriotic adornments when referencing President Donald Trump and making America great again in the roofing advertisement.
“Donald Trump says make America great again. I say make America gun again,” its owner, Zach Blenkinsopp, said in the viral Digital Roofing Innovations video.
The Navy veteran is shown appearing to sip on beer from a can, down a shot of whiskey, and posing with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle during the short video. What type of liquid was actually in the can and bottle remains unclear. He stated both proudly and boldly, the rifles being given away to anyone who purchased a roof in Alabama on are to protect both the customer and their family.
After the video appeared on the Facebook page operated by the Alabama roofing company, the backlash by posters, many of them gun control activists, began appearing. One poster angry about the free AR-15 rifle giveaway accused Zach Blenkinsopp of “endangering life” with the promotion, the Daily Mail reports.
@WAAYTV @whnt Have you seen this? https://t.co/HsYa2fHg8A
— Chuck McGuire (@globeflyer) July 5, 2017
One Facebook poster using the name Ray Shackleford accused the Navy veteran of helping “kill people” for the “price of a new roof.” The Facebook user called for everyone to boycott the Alabama roofing company and force Blenkinsopp out of business. The video may prompt many gun rights supporters to call Digital Roofing Innovations when they are in need of home repairs.
Some social media posters also mocked the video and said Zach Blenkinsopp would be the last person they would trust to put on a new roof and deemed him wholly unprofessional.
The Alabama roofing company owner was on active duty in the United States Navy from 2004 to 2012, AL.com reports. Despite what some social media posters have claimed, Digital Roofing Innovations is not handing out unregistered AR-15 semi-automatic rifles without backgrounds checks.
To score the free AR-15 after the roofing job is complete, the customers must undergo a background check at a licensed gun dealer. A $500 voucher that can be redeemed at the Cypress Creek Indoor Range in Florence, Alabama is handed out after the job has been paid for, not the actual semi-automatic rifle.
Blenkinsopp comes from a digital marketing background. His business partner was a commercial real estate appraiser before getting into the roofing business. The Alabama roofing company owner said he is not concerned about the backlash over the video advertisement. Blenkinsopp said even though he might come off as a “backwoods redneck,” both he and his business partner are educated men.
[Featured Image by Anatoly Vartanov/Shutterstock]
