Posted on 06/28/2022 3:46:10 PM PDT by Zhang Fei
For centuries, some of the biggest names in firearms — Colt, Winchester, Smith & Wesson — have made their homes in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut, a region that grew so rife with gunmakers it earned the nickname “Gun Valley.”
The signature weapons that powered America’s wars from the muskets of 1812 to the M1 Garand of World War II to the M16 in Vietnam were made by the millions here, as were the pistols on the hips of law enforcement officers across the land.
To many, it’s a surprising distinction for a region that reliably votes blue and sports some of the nation’s strictest gun laws. But you can thank General George Washington for that. He planted the seeds for Gun Valley even before he became the father of his country, choosing Springfield, Mass., as the place to store the fledgling Continental Army’s cannons, muskets, and other supplies — an inland trove safely out of reach of the British Navy.
Mass manufacture of weapons would follow, centered around the Springfield Armory and the many firms it spawned. In 2010, Massachusetts and Connecticut, along with New York and New Hampshire, produced nearly half the firearms for non-military sale in the entire country.
But what Washington long ago launched, the economy and politics are taking away. Gun Valley is rapidly declining as more conservative states lure gun manufacturers away with promises of cheaper labor and energy costs, generous incentives, and more favorable gun laws. Northeastern politicians, meanwhile, have increasingly targeted these companies for their roles in perpetuating gun violence — even as these same officials regret the erosion of the industrial workforce gun-making has sustained.
By 2020, the four Northeastern states’ share of non-military firearms production plummeted in a decade from nearly half to just 18 percent of the nation’s total.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonglobe.com ...
Are they going to the great state of Tennessee. So many businesses are moving there and Florida.
If a society has contempt for your product, they shouldn’t benefit from the sale of it.
I have heard it said that some people use a website called archive.ph, cut and paste web links into a text box entitled “I want to search the archive for saved snapshots” and read articles without paying subscription fees. Let it be said that I do not recommend that anyone resort to such a highly unethical practice. Just wanted to put it out there that we live in a corrupt world.
Just 4 years ago Kimber expanded their Yonkers, NY facilities.
Oh, I know, but those states do not and have not produce guns.
Historically, guns we made in Massachusetts and Connecticut, both states are gun hating now.
VT yes, gun friendly. Even Bernie is sort of pro gun and have been criticized for it in debates.
“Are they going to the great state of Tennessee.”
Last I heard, S&W is relocating to Maryville, TN, from Massachusetts.
I had a long conversation with a senior executive from Ruger a few years ago. We met at the Ruger plant in Southbury Connecticut. The executive office, employing perhaps 20 people, was attached to an empty and idle factory building.
During the conversation he told me that Ruger was dedicated to not investing another dime in Connecticut. All of their manufacturing was done in New Hampshire and other gun friendly states.
Yeah. His decision was just outstanding.
With luck, the precedent has been set to file many suits against state level restrictions.
Hopefully, all of the unconstitutional Colorado bans get tossed. ESPECIALLY their removal of preemption.
May the fork be with you...
One of Hartford most iconic view is the Blue Dome of the Colt Armory. Even the Hartford Athletic SC has it in their logo. A branch of the New Haven was (and still is) called the Armory Branch.
I have 3 Ruger’s. Two bolt action rifles chambered in 300 Winchester Magnum and .270 and my daily carry SR40. All 3 are quality made, dependable, accurate out of the box and they are priced right. Great guns, IMHO.
Sounds like typical leftard thinking. About 10 years ago Bremerton Washington, the home of praying Coach Kennedy, (love Joe, glad to see him prevail), had a dimocRAT mayor who thought it would be a great idea to harass, cajole and try to extort more money out of the US Navy that operates one of the oldest shipyards in America, The Naval Shipyard Bremerton. (NCIS mentions Bremerton quite often in their shows)
The brilliant mayor even stated, more than once, that Bremerton would be better off if the Navy left the area. Say what? Just in Kitsap County alone the Navy operates 4 installations.
Needless to say he lost his re-election and the last I heard, he moved completely out of the area, probably moved to Seattle, thinking like that works over there with the mentally handicapped.
Smart corporations are agile, flexible and nimble and make decent business decisions.
NH has SIG, Ruger, and a lot smaller gun related cottage industries. They have all been here for awhile. The cost of electricity is the only real downside to manufacturing in NH.
If you examine similar data for other states you will see migration of liberals to other states or other factors also causes a shift in voter preferences from 1984 to 2020.
Texas went from +27.5% for Reagan to +3% for Trump, a drop of almost 25%.
Georgia went from +20% for Reagan to -.24% for Trump, a drop of a bit over 20%.
Tennessee did increase its vote percentage for the Republican candidate, from +16% for Reagan to +23% for Trump.
Of course the low income tax situation in Tennessee may be a factor.
In 2020 Democrats dragged out every "voter" they could find, and in states like NH with a large number of out of state college students who do get to vote here, they managed to win all the federal level races. They were not so successful at the state level, where Republicans took the NH House, Senate and Governorship. One of the reasons for that seems to be that Democrat "voters" did not bother with down ticket races.
The trendlines you cited have occurred everywhere, they may just be a bit more visible in smaller states like NH.
“Ruger is still here in gun friendly NH.”
Prescott and Prescott Valley in Arizona are working hard to get Ruger to move their headquarters to the area since their handguns are made here.
If you go to the Springfield Armory you should also check out the basketball hall of fame. It’s where basketball invented. In the first game between the faculty and students at Springfield College the high scorer was Amos Alonzo Stagg. He was the all-time athlete at Yale and was the University of Chicago coach for decades. He also invented the batting cage, and many football plays including the forward pass, the Statue of Liberty and the fumbleruscki - whatever that was. While you are there you can also go to the Dr. Seuss sculpture garden. Dr. Suess grew up on Mulberry St. and later wrote “To think I saw it on Mulberry Street.”
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