VuurwapenBlog Legal Defense

My name is Andrew Tuohy and I have written at Vuurwapen Blog since 2009. Along with my new friend Everett Baker, a chemistry student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, I wrote several articles detailing the results of scientific testing from three different laboratories which showed, according to three different PhDs in chemistry, that a gun oil called FireClean was "probably a modern unsaturated vegetable oil virtually the same as many oils used for cooking" as well as "nearly identical" or "virtually identical" to canola oil. In addition, I showed there were significant discrepancies in a video test performed by FireClean and Vickers Tactical which purportedly proved the effectiveness of FireClean by causing more smoke to leave the gun.

Recently I discovered Fireclean was suing myself and Everett in retaliation for these articles. This didn't come as a huge surprise as they had both threatened to sue me before I published the first article and also told me they'd "throw money" at anyone who could perform a test which they clearly expected to show other products being inferior to theirs - and repeatedly suggested I perform that test, reminding me that I'd be paid for my time. Neither the carrot nor the stick worked and I published the initial results as well as a followup with more data. 

However, defending against frivolous lawsuits costs money, and I need your help with that. I'm estimating initial costs at $15,000, but they may go beyond that amount. 

While there are larger implications for bloggers and journalists here, the bottom line is that Everett and I sought or performed and published multiple rounds of independent testing from three laboratories to answer a question many were asking, then published the results of that testing. The company reacted poorly - deleting any critical or questioning comments on Facebook, claiming that people who used cooking oils on their firearms might be seriously injured or killed, making the FireClean Lube Test video private - and now they're attempting to shoot the messengers. 

I'd greatly appreciate your support in defending against this lawsuit so that companies know they can't bully into submission those who earnestly seek to report the truth.