Gun-friendly states court gunmakers
By Jason Rearick/USA Today - 7/1/2013
More than a year removed from his failed bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is a headliner in a new and equally crowded campaign.
Perry and governors representing other gun-friendly states are aggressively attempting to lure gunmakers, suppliers and other vendors away from Connecticut and the surrounding region, which for generations has drawn much of its identity from the firearms industry.
Two weeks ago, Perry made one of the boldest public splashes, hosting gunmakers at a posh Hartford restaurant reception.
During his trip, one of the industry's iconic names, Colt, presented the visiting governor -- otherwise armed with possible cash grants and low-interest loans -- with a M1911 handgun.
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard, a Republican, showed up the next day for meetings with Colt and Mossberg executives touting his state's proud hunting tradition, low taxes and a political culture aligned with gun rights advocates.
And last week, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican, personally welcomed PTR Industries to the tiny town of Aynor, where the Connecticut gunmaker has decided to relocate, bringing about 100 jobs.
The recruiting rush comes in the wake of stricter gun laws passed by Connecticut, New York, Colorado and other states following the December school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
"The competition has been extremely brisk," said National Shooting Sports Foundation spokesman Mike Bazinet, whose gun-industry association is based in Newtown. "I'm not aware of anything quite like this."
In April, Connecticut enacted a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines larger than 10 rounds and broadened its prohibition on assault weapons.
The legislation is the reason Mark Malkowski, the chief executive of New Britain, Conn.-based Stag Arms, has received "hundreds" of inquiries from local government officials and others from 41 states, including South Carolina, where he traveled Thursday to meet with the officials about a possible move there. He is likely to make a similar trip to Texas.
All of the suitors, he said, have sought to make a play for Stag Arms' business -- it produces about 6,000 semiautomatic rifles each month -- and its 200 jobs.
Under the state law, Malkowski is prohibited from selling any of his products -- all semiautomatic rifles -- in the state where he has made them for the past decade. He estimated that the lost business in Connecticut cost him about $1 million in the first quarter of this year.
"Before the new laws were passed, our state Legislature didn't even take the time to bring us to the table," Malkowski said, referring to the firearms industry. "It's that type of insensitivity that shows an inability to work with us."
Andrew Doba, spokesman for Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, said "every job is important to us."
"We compete every single day for jobs," Doba said. "But we think that the investments we are making in growth areas like bio-science and digital media are very important."
Yet Malloy, a Democrat, clearly took note of the job-poaching effort being waged by his gubernatorial colleagues last week when he made an unscheduled stop at Max Downtown, where Perry was meeting with local gun-industry executives.
Doba said Malloy was simply on his way to a nearby appointment and sought to welcome the Texas governor to Connecticut.
"We haven't given up on any industry, but they (gunmakers) have a decision to make for their businesses and for their employees," Doba said.
Perry has been formally courting gunmakers since early this year, sending nearly three dozen letters to industry executives highlighting the state's "business friendly" atmosphere.
"While I support the efforts of law enforcement to identify, apprehend, prosecute and punish criminals who use firearms in the commission of their crimes, I do not believe that imposing additional requirements or restrictions on businesses is the correct approach," Perry told David Lien, president of Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, in a February letter inquiring about the company's possible relocation.
"This is part of a process," Perry spokesman Josh Havens said. "We didn't expect to leave Connecticut with a company packed up in our luggage. This is not an easy decision for them to make. But we will continue to court these companies."
Texas Gov. Rick Perry arrives June 17 at the Ferguson Library in Stamford, Conn., to speak about civility in politics. Last month, Perry hosted gunmakers at a Hartford restaurant reception.
Jason Rearick, the stamford advocate, via AP
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