Today’s a big day for Ryan Vaden. After years of planning and slowly piecing together his business, the Indianapolis resident is finally opening the doors to Vaden’s Firearms and Ammunition this weekend, and Vaden calls it a “phenomenal dream come true”.

Ryan expects hundreds of shoppers, so masks and social distancing will be enforced for both employees and customers. There will also be store security personnel on hand.

 

“Fifteen customers will be able to come in at a time, will be able to make any type of firearm purchase, handguns, shotguns, A-R platforms, and ammunition,” Vaden said.

 

Gun buyers will have to pass background checks, which is more important now than ever after Indy’s latest mass shooting that claimed eight lives.

 

“It can go good or bad when it comes to guns,” said Vaden, “My heart is with the family and any family with the loss of a loved one in a firearm being at work, at home.”

Gotta love that bit of editorializing from Indianapolis TV station WTHR, which fails to acknowledge that the shooting in Indianapolis was committed by someone who passed a background check when he purchased the rifles used in his attack. Given the fact that all commercial firearms transactions are required under federal law to go through a background check, there’s really no need for the news outlet to bring up the fact that gun sales at Vaden’s shop will go through the NICS system, other than to add in a note of anti-gun hostility to what should be a good day for the 39-year old gun store owner.

WTHR also ignores the fact that Vaden’s Firearms and Ammunition will be the city’s first Black-owned gun store, which is odd given that the station is Indy’s NBC affiliate and NBC News recently ran a story complaining about the dearth of Black-owned and operated gun shops across the country. You’d think the station would find that at least newsworthy enough to mention, but I guess the reporter was too busy trying to insert some pro-gun control opinion to cover all of the notable facts about Vaden’s endeavor.

Ryan Vaden isn’t just an entrepreneur. He has a passion for firearms and is a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment as well. In fact, back in February the same television station quoted Vaden in a story about a Constitutional Carry bill in the Indiana legislature.

Ryan Vaden is a weapons expert who has been monitoring the progress of HB 1369. He is a licensed carrier and among those supporting the bill. Vaden understands the argument about safety and liability from people opposed to the measure. He also believes there is a way to reduce gun violence.

 

“It needs to start within the community. When people sit here and start taking responsibility for their own actions. If you are lawfully able to own a gun and go through the necessary steps, there should not be a reason why,” Vaden said.

Unfortunately the Constitutional Carry bill died in the Indiana Senate, but lawmakers will try again next year. For Vaden’s dream, however, the wait is over. The nation’s newest gun store is open for business in Indianapolis, and Ryan Vaden’s decade-long dream is now a reality, though keeping his store stocked with product is likely going to be somewhat of a nightmare, especially to begin with.

When things calm down for him, I’m hoping to get Ryan Vaden on Cam & Co to talk about his new shop, but in the meantime you can check out an interview with Vaden and my friend and WIBC radio host Tony Katz that took place this week.