A Wisconsin company gives each employee the money to buy a gun

A Wisconsin-based family-owned company that produces whiskey, beer and shot glasses with an integrated decorative ball they call "bullet proof" offered its employees an unusual gift: $ 500 for the purchase of the weapon of their choice.

The announcement was made at the end of last month at a business meeting.

"We wanted to offer a gift that they could use for their personal protection and we thought it would be fun," Ben Wolfgram, co-owner of BenShot, the glassware design company in Hortonville, told ABC News. Wisconsin.

Staff of 16 were allowed to take a firearm from a weapons store and use the remaining funds to purchase firearm accessories. The staff is made up of veterans, experienced gun owners and new gun buyers, according to Wolfgram.

Courtesy of Ben Wolfgram / BenShot

Firearms purchases are commonplace in this city, where hunting is common, and the company's decision did not trigger panic among local law enforcement.

Courtesy of Ben Wolfgram / BenShot

"Every business needs to set a policy on what they want to do – it's not mandated." If homeowners feel uncomfortable at home [purchasing firearms] this is not a problem, "Kristine Brownson, chief of police at Hortonville Village, told ABC News.

Training is not required to carry a firearm, but Wolfgram said BenShot employees had been trained in gun safety.

With a seemingly constant stream of mass shootings in the US, BenShot is being hit by social media. Some Twitter users have vowed to boycott the company.

"We are trying to respectfully listen to their opinions and not respect them," Wolfgram told ABC News. The company said that she supported the NRA and the 2nd amendment. "Our society is based on ammunition, we put bullets in drinking glasses," he said.

Wolfgram said that the purchase of firearms has been excellent for the constitution of teams.

"I bought a Smith & Wesson, I have a revolver, a special 38. It's great to be part of that sort of thing," ABC News told Chelsea Priest, director of marketing at BenShot.

Only two employees chose not to buy a firearm. "I decided not to get a gun, my husband does not like guns and I do not need them at that time," said Westby. , glass technician, at ABC News, before adding that his decision was not political in nature.

Until now, Wolfgram has stated that no employee has brought his firearm to work.