By Cheryl K. Chumley
The Washington Times
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Gun manufacturers are leaving the Northeast in droves, seeking out new production homes in the comparatively low-tax, Second Amendment-friendly South — and at a time when firearms sales have skyrocketed, industry data showed.
“Everybody who is looking to expand in new factory space is looking outside the Northeast,” said Brian Ruttenbur, an analyst with CRT Capital Group, in Reuters. “The reasons are taxes, labor and laws.”
One of the latest is PTR Industries Inc., a firearms maker that was based in Connecticut but left for South Carolina in the wake of hefty regulations that legislators enacted after the Newtown school shootings.
This week, company executives presented a commemorative rifle to the governor of South Carolina during a brief ceremony to mark their new partnership, which includes an $8 million initial PTR investment and the creation of 45 new jobs, Reuters reported.
The rifle that PTR presented was stamped with the state’s logo and the accompanying text: “We the people shall not be infringed,” Reuters reported.
PTR isn’t the only gun manufacturer to pick up shop and leave the Northeast.
Remington Outdoor Co Inc moved some of its production lines from New York — where it had maintained business since 1816 — to Alabama, Reuters reported. Sturm Ruger & Co Inc is constructing a 220,000-square-foot building in North Carolina. And Colt’s Manufacturing Co, which is also headquartered in Connecticut, moved shop to Texas at the tail end of 2013.
Meanwhile, Beretta USA decided to abandon its long-time base in Maryland and move operations to Tennessee — a decision that was made shortly after Maryland lawmakers banned assault weapons’ sales.
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