Posted on 04/16/2013 3:01:30 PM PDT by neverdem
The state's gun manufacturers say Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is creating a hostile work environment and essentially driving them out of the state with comments they view as "offensive'' regarding their industry.
The clash had been simmering for weeks but reached a flash point on April 7 when Malloy gave a TV interview on CNN with anchor Candy Crowley. In the interview, Malloy said, "What this is about is the ability of the gun industry to sell as many guns to as many people as possible, even if they're deranged, even if they're mentally ill, even if they have a criminal record. They don't care.''
Those comments have prompted outrage in the gun industry in Connecticut.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation Inc., the Newtown-based trade association, wants an apology. And O.F. Mossberg & Sons, a North Haven gun maker with 270 employees, said the comments are "slanderous to our employees.''
Mossberg, the oldest family-owned gun maker in the nation, expressed its dismay in a letter written by Joseph H. Bartozzi, the company's general counsel.
"To set the record straight,'' Bartozzi wrote to Malloy, "our company and our employees have gone on record at public hearings and with our elected legislators as stating that the single biggest thing this state can do to stop the criminal misuse of firearms is to prevent access to firearms by prohibited or other at-risk individuals.''
He added that Malloy's comments "came across as insulting and slanderous to our employees and to our industry, and appear to be politically motivated as opposed to constructive or meaningful.''
"At a time when we are facing product boycotts simply because we have a manufacturing presence in Connecticut, I would respectfully ask that you carefully consider the [effect] that your words have both within and outside this state,'' Bartozzi wrote. "At a time when we are being encouraged to move our manufacturing facility to any one of several states, your words have made us feel most unwelcomed. In a state where our company has been providing good, well-paying jobs for over nine decades, your words make us feel decidedly unappreciated.''
But Malloy recently rejected the idea that gun buyers in other states would purposely avoid buying Connecticut-made guns because of the strict gun laws here.
"No, I don't believe it, but secondly, we have made a decision that we are going to protect our citizens, and we're leading, and we're doing it on a bipartisan basis,'' Malloy said.
When asked if he is concerned that gun manufacturers will leave the state, Malloy responded: "There aren't that many gun companies in Connecticut. This is not the Connecticut immediately following the Second World War in which Bridgeport was the second-largest munitions manufacturing center in the United States. Those companies have left Connecticut over a long period of time. We're not going to reverse that trend, but there's no reason for those companies to leave the state. Obviously, that's their option. We'll work with people who work with us."
But Larry Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said in an interview Monday that the loss of business in Connecticut is real because gun buyers know where the firearms are made.
"That's a very real concern on the part of the manufacturers — that consumers will boycott manufacturers,'' Keane said. "Absolutely.''
He added: "A Mossberg shotgun will say North Haven, Connecticut. Federal law requires certain markings to be placed on the firearm. It will have the serial number. It will have the name of the city and state where it is manufactured. The consumer knows where you're located because it's right on the gun. The consumer is highly motivated and highly aware, politically — more than consumers of other products. They take these things into consideration.''
Keane said, "I think he should apologize to the manufacturers in the state for his comments, first off, and he ought to reconsider the law he signed. It is going to drive manufacturing jobs out of the state. He shouldn't have rushed through with his proposals, and he should have entered into a more meaningful dialogue with the industry. Connecticut has the toughest gun laws. But tough doesn't mean safe.''
Keane said he recently received phone calls from economic development officials in Indiana and New Hampshire who want to recruit Connecticut companies. In addition, he said, the governor of South Dakota sent a letter to every gun manufacturer in Connecticut to solicit business that said, "We'd love you to come here.''
One company, Bristol-based rifle maker PTR Industries, has already announced that it is leaving the state.
Concerning Mossberg's letter, Malloy's spokesman, Andrew Doba, said: "The governor thinks about jobs and economic development 24 hours a day. However, on this particular issue, his focus is first and foremost on public safety. The bill he signed into law will improve public safety and make Connecticut's communities and families safer. We hope the gun industry will join us in that effort.''
mmmm stay in ct where not wanted and taxed up the ying yang.
orrrrr
move to another state that will practically build a factory, no income tax for employees, PAY for the employees to move, and welcome you with a parade....
when did ct become the state stupid people lived? oh yes, when the MSM elites moved in so they could just commute to NYC...
Nothing but trouble lies there.
Relocate to America.
They already have a factory on Texas to make Maverick shotguns.
I know one thing. I always think twice before buying when I see that a gun is made in Connecticut..
We have two things in common, choice of state and choice of shotgun.
Historcally, firearms manufacture was prevalent in New England, and the state of CT, in particular, since the days of Eli Whitney, who was the first person to demonstrate the mass production of firearms. Sam Colt set up shop in Hartford, in the early 1800's to produce his revolutionary new revolving cylinder pistol. Others, who had started under his tutelage, spun off, and began their own companies nearby.
Oddly enough, one of the major reasons that the South lost the Civil War, was the fact that manufacturing was largely centered in the North. The South had little manufacturing capabilities of its own, relying on imports, which were strangled due to the Union blockade. What little manufacturing capabilities of its own the South possessed, were utilized primarily to manufacture copies of the 1851 Colt Navy revolver. They had neither Sam Colt's blessing, or approval in this, Sam being a staunch Unionist...
the infowarrior
Texas....ain’t Oklahoma. : )
It's a great gun....I generally shoot 3" #5's...Remington Nitro's.
I can reach out and touch a Tom....!! Ha!!
40 yds isn't a problem....I could probably shoot 20 yds farther..if I tinkered around with loads...And practiced. Ha!!
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