Free Republic

At least 20 manufacturers have shifted operations to states with friendlier attitudes toward firearmsSmith & Wesson CEO Mark Smith was fed up. He was running the largest firearms manufacturer in America, based in Springfield, Mass., where it had been making weapons since 1860, and yet state lawmakers were considering a bill to ban the manufacture of AR-15-style rifles for the civilian market. The proposed law would cripple Smith’s company. Sixty percent of Smith & Wesson’s revenue came from AR-15-style guns.So after years of flirting with the idea, Smith announced last September that Smith & Wesson was pulling up stakes and...

Gun maker Stag Arms has announced on November 18, 2019, it is moving all its operations from Connecticut to Wyoming. Connecticut passed stricter gun laws after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The AR-15 rifle maker had announced in June that it would be leaving Connecticut for somewhere else that is more business friendly. It plans to be relocated to Cheyenne by the end of the year. The company said in a statement on November 18th, "Not only is Wyoming an incredibly hospitable place to do business, it is also a top destination for outdoor recreation,...

HARTFORD — New Britain-based Stag Firearms LLC pleaded guilty Tuesday to violating federal firearms laws and as part of a plea agreement company president and owner Mark Malkowski agreed to sell the company and have no further ownership or management role in a gun manufacturer. The company, with Malkowski serving as its representative, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Hartford to a single felony count of possession of a machine gun not registered to the company.

Connecticut’s historic gun law signed by Governor Dannel Malloy went into effect last month, signed April 4, but the state is giving gun manufacturers and gun shops until June 1 to understand and apply the laws to their businesses. Gun shop owners like Mark Malkowski, owner of Stag Arms, have said they should have been given more time to interpret it before it went to law. Stag Arms, producer of the AR-15 in Connecticut, said it was considering moving out of Connecticut when the new law passed because the gun cannot be sold here, only out of state. The owner...

It’s being reported that Connecticut AR-15 manufacturer Stag Arms may be following Colt Competition and PTR Industries and leaving the state.The Associated Press is reporting that Mark Malkowski, president of Stag Arms, spoke Tuesday with Texas economic development officials trying to lure the company, which was founded in 2003 and employs more than 200 employees.“It’s something we’ll strongly consider,” he said, adding that leaving Connecticut would be difficult. “If you’re a lawyer with a laptop, that’s one thing,” he said. “It’s not something we’re going to do easily.”You can read more here.

A Connecticut gun-maker announced on Wednesday it intends to leave the state, just six days after passage of restrictive gun control legislation, while two other manufacturers said they are considering relocation offers from other states. Manufacturers also plan to lobby the state’s congressional delegation next week “to make sure they hear from our side,” said Mark Malkowski, president of Stag Arms in New Britain. Bristol-based PTR said in a statement posted on its website that it has not decided where it will move, but has commitments from most employees to relocate. The company makes military-style rifles and employs more than...