Interesting NY Times article about gun manufacturers

[TOrrock]

I'm hoping this gets more traction, or at the very least, slaps some of the New England states and IL out of their stupidity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/us/10guns.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1313067682-Tfy6ZJECgiGoDeIyw1lBIw



For more than a century, the nation’s firearms industry, including iconic brands like Colt, Smith & Wesson and Winchester, has been concentrated in Northeastern and Midwestern states that now have restrictive gun-control laws.

But recently, states like Idaho, Alabama and Montana have presented a novel argument as part of an effort to lure the firearms industry’s high-paying jobs south and west: Gun makers would be happier and more successful among citizens who regularly use firearms than they would be remaining in states trying to limit gun rights.

[GermanSynergy]

It's funny how anti gun states like CT,MA and MD all have prominent manufacturers in state. I'd love to see them relocate to friendlier waters....

[Erik 1]

As a CT resident, I'd hate to see that but...I sure couldn't argue with them if they did.

[montanadave]

The gun manufacturers, while always quick to align themselves with the gun lobby and 2nd amendment proponents, are businesses and, after all the PR rhetoric, will site their manufacturing facilities where they receive the most favorable economic accommodations.

From the NYT article cited by the OP:

And last year, when Massachusetts sought to ensure that Smith & Wesson stayed in Springfield, the state gave the company $6 million in tax credits to relocate one of its New Hampshire factories there. While the factory employs a modest 225 people, Massachusetts wanted to make sure the company would not start shifting operations elsewhere.

“Although several states and cities have approached us to entice expansion into their locations,” Massachusetts had demonstrated “the commitment of both the commonwealth and the city to not only Smith & Wesson, but to our employees, the local community, and to manufacturing in Massachusetts,” the company said in a statement.

It's all about the benjamins.

I'd love to see some of these big name manufacturers here in Montana. We need the jobs and a stronger manufacturing base. I also think a lot of their employees might like it better here in Montana. But I don't know if our state government can put enough goodies on the plate to outbid some of the more populous states that are desperate to keep those jobs and willing to pay through the nose.

[GermanSynergy]

What's oh so interesting about these anti gun states is that they are adamant about denying civil rights to their populace, ostensibly under the guise of "gun safety", yet they have no qualms about profiting from the manufacture of said weapons.

I'll have to rub this in the face of some left wing family members.

[WillBrink]

It's funny how anti gun states like CT,MA and MD all have prominent manufacturers in state.

They are all clustered there due to post civil war manufacturing in what's referred to as "gun valley"

Some are no longer actually their, like SA.

Me, I think the most ironic and telling this is, the companies that produce the products, employ hundreds of people and pay millions in taxes, often can't sell their own product in MA because their guns are not MA "approved."

That alone is more then enough reason for such companies to pick up and leave. It's disgusting and down right un-American as it gets.

[austinN4]

We would welcome them with open arms (no pun intended) in Texas!

[rubberneck]

Colt will close it's doors before they ever leave the state. The union and the state will make sure of it. They made a deal with the devil in 1992 and that deal is like a millstone around their necks.

[VooDoo6Actual]

Colt will close it's doors before they ever leave the state. The union and the state will make sure of it. They made a deal with the devil in 1992 and that deal is like a millstone around their necks.

At this rate & current trajectory unless something changes that trajectory, I look for the US Government to take over Colt Mfg.

seriously, NO shit.

[Belmont31R]

Colt will close it's doors before they ever leave the state. The union and the state will make sure of it. They made a deal with the devil in 1992 and that deal is like a millstone around their necks.





For those who don't know Colt's union is the UAW...same **** sticks that got Chrysler and GM from Obama.

[Belmont31R]

At this rate & current trajectory unless something changes that trajectory, I look for the US Government to take over Colt Mfg.

seriously, NO shit.




They would give the company to the union.

[JackOSU]

All the more reason to buy BCM or DD.

[rubberneck]

They would give the company to the union.

Only after blowing a couple billion dollars of taxpayer money on it first.

[chadbag]

And places like Troy Industries and Yankee Hill (both in Mass).

I gave some of their people a hard time about being in Mass at the SHOT Show in 2010 and they (the people at both booths I was talking to) just said that they did not care about the laws since most of the people working there were at least part time LEO and could get whatever they wanted...

They could at least move to New Hampshire, which is a free state and has great gun laws and in most cases the move would be 30-60 miles...