YouTube blocks videos from Iowa gun seller Brownells, then changes its mind

The Des Moines Register

YouTube terminated the account of Iowa gun seller Brownells without warning over the weekend, then quickly restored the video channel after pressure from gun supporters.

Brownells, which promotes itself as the "world's largest supplier of firearms accessories and gunsmithing tools," tweeted about YouTube's action Saturday, saying it received no notice or warning.

The Grinnell company called the move an attack on First and Second Amendment rights and rallied supporters to pressure Google, the parent company of YouTube.

YouTube recently tightened its restrictions around gun-related content and banned videos about the selling and making of firearms, ammunition and accessories.

But it has "repeatedly bowed to pressure from pro-gun activists" after blocking such channels, according to the Daily Mail.

By Monday, Brownells' YouTube account — which has nearly 69,000 subscribers — had been restored.

Brownells started in the 1930s as a hobby for its bedridden founder. The third-generation company now has a 7,000-square-foot retail store, shown here, and 200,000-square-foot warehouse.

"With the massive volume of videos on our site, sometimes we make the wrong call," a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement Monday afternoon. "When it's brought to our attention that a video or channel has been removed mistakenly, we act quickly to reinstate it."

Brownells spokesman Ryan Repp said he was unclear what happened. But in discussing with others in the industry, it appeared that several firearm-related accounts received some type of sanction from YouTube over the weekend.

But Repp said the videos on Brownells' account didn't appear to violate YouTube's new firearm content policy.

Repp said this isn't the first time Brownells and other gun channels have been sanctioned "for seemingly no reason." Sanctions can range from account termination to a more minor account strike — three strikes leads to the account's termination.

The Iowa company has received account strikes in the past, but all have been overturned by YouTube, he said.

Workers fulfill online and mail orders in a 200,000-square-foot warehouse at Brownells near Grinnell last week.

"I would call it very rare to go from having a 100-percent compliant account — with nearly 10 years of account history — to account termination overnight," Repp said.

Brownells takes "great care" in assuring its in compliance with YouTube's rules, Repp said.

"However, it always seems there’s trouble with them — even when we’ve done nothing wrong," he said. "It sure appears to be a systemic bias against the firearms industry."

Brownells does not manufacture guns. But from its giant warehouse and retail store off Interstate 80 in Grinnell, the company supplies thousands of guns and gun parts to customers across the globe.

Branded gifts and souvenirs are sold in the retail store of Brownells near Grinnell.

Previously: The new face of Iowa's international gun dealer

It has found itself at the center of the nation's raging gun debate: Brownells CEO Pete Brownell was active on the National Rifle Association's board for several years and was elected president in 2017.

He announced in May he would not run for re-election to the position.

Grinnell College students and faculty targeted the business in its "26 Days of Action Against Gun Violence" event in November 2017.

A local chapter of Students Against School Shootings staged a "die-in" demonstration at Brownells in April of this year.