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Gun companies are fleeing Colorado and New York and taking their jobs and tax revenue with them.
Less than a year after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the SAFE Act into law, the great firearms exodus has begun. American Tactical Imports (ATI) was among the first to leave the state. ATI decided to invest nearly $3 million in a new facility in South Carolina, creating 117 jobs in the Southern state.
Meanwhile, Magpul Industries, one of the largest gun companies in America, is the latest company to grab some boxes and packing tape and head for the door, and will leave Colorado. The manufacturer recently announced that it would be resuming operations in Texas and Wyoming. Magpul cited the passage of new gun control laws that would drastically decrease the sale of firearms accessories as their reason for moving.
Chief operating officer Doug Smith said about the relocation:
These dual moves will be carried out in a manner that ensures our operations and supply chain will not be interrupted and our loyal customers will not be affected.
Said Richard Fitzpatrick, chief executive officer of Magpul:
Moving operations to states that support our culture of individual liberties and personal responsibility is important. This relocation will also improve business operations and logistics as we utilize the strengths of Texas and Wyoming in our expansion.
The company’s new headquarters will be in Texas and the distribution, manufacturing and shipping operations center will be in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Texas Governor Rick Perry has not been shy about luring companies to his state and he played an integral role in the gun company’s decision to leave Colorado and become a Lone Star State resident.
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Magpul was founded in 1999 and currently employs approximately 200 people. It contributed nearly $85 million to the economy in Colorado.
As previously reported by Off The Grid News, restrictive gun laws in Colorado prompted two successful recall elections. Democratic State Senators Angela Giron and John Morse lost their offices due to grassroots Second Amendment efforts in 2013. State Senator Evie Hudak, also a Democrat, resigned her post in an effort to avoid a recall election embarrassment. The new Colorado gun control law make magazines that hold more than 15 rounds illegal and requires background checks on gun transfers.
In New York, Kahr Firearms Group decided to leave the state and explore greener pastures in nearby Pennsylvania. The firearms company cited “uncertainty” over new gun control laws as their reason for the change in zip code.
“One of our big concerns was, OK, the SAFE Act was passed in the middle of the night,” said Kahr vice president of sales and marketing Frank Harris. “You wake up the next morning and boom, that was it. It’s not just the SAFE Act, but the uncertainty.”
Remington Arms has also been pondering potential relocation spots for a potential new plant in Tennessee. The gun company is one of the largest weapons manufacturers in the United States and makes a rifle that is now illegal in New York.
One of the provisions in the controversial gun control involves mandatory background checks on ammo purchases. Governor Cuomo previously stated that the new law would permit law enforcement agencies to “track ammunition purchases in real time.” The statement understandably drew sharp criticism from gun rights advocates, who largely feel the SAFE Act infringes upon the Second Amendment.
“I’ve been involved in the Second Amendment for four decades, and this is something that I have never seen. It has really gotten under the skin of legal gun owners,” Shooters Committee on Political Education Chair Harold “Budd” Schroeder said.
New York resident Evan Hempel was so infuriated by the dictates in the SAFE Act he crated the NYSAFEResolutions.com website to record the opposition by local counties to the gun control law.
It is a law forced on rural New Yorkers by a liberal elite who oppose the principles of the U.S. Constitution. The majority of the state wants a hands-off, non-intrusive government, which does not interfere with their right to bear arms or crush business with harmful regulation.
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