Connecticut has long been the home of numerous gun manufacturers. Others have called different New England states home. This goes way back since the Northeast was the manufacturing sector of American trade while the South and Midwest were known more for agriculture.

But over the years, a lot of gun companies started bailing on states like Connecticut. 

It’s not difficult to understand why,  of course. You can’t be hostile to an entire industry, actively seek to inhibit their ability to sell their products to consumers, and then see them stick around and ask for more.

But a recent story makes it clear that the lawmakers in question don’t see it that way.

The longstanding presence of many gun manufacturers in Connecticut contributed to the coining of phrases such as the New England “gun valley.” But developments in recent years have made those descriptors sound increasingly outdated. 

While the firearms industry is still a significant component of Connecticut’s manufacturing sector, a number of gun makers that operate in the state have downsized or relocated their businesses to other parts of the U.S., during the past few years. Many people in the industry argue that those changes show the toll of the state’s stringent gun regulations. Some of the top Democrats in the state legislature and grassroots advocates disagree, as they maintain that they are focused on preventing gun violence, not marginalizing firearms manufacturers. 

…

Last year, the legislature passed a wide-ranging law whose provisions included the closing of loopholes in the state’s ban on assault weapons; a prohibition of the open carrying of guns in public; new limits on handgun purchases within a 30-day period, to discourage straw purchases; updates to the state’s ban on homemade “ghost” guns; as well as expanded requirements for safe storage of firearms.

“Connecticut has enacted common-sense gun safety laws and invested millions of dollars in gun-violence prevention programs. These legislative initiatives from Democrats have resulted in Connecticut ranking as one of the safest states in the country especially around gun violence,” state Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, the state Senate’s majority leader, said this week. “As state leaders, we do not need to choose between growing our economy and keeping people safe. In Connecticut we are doing both.” 

But the leaders of some firearms companies have taken a much dimmer view of the reforms enacted in recent years. In 2013, Bristol-based PTR Industries announced that it would move to Aynor, South Carolina. PTR officials said that the legislation passed that year made the company’s entire product line illegal in Connecticut. 

Anyone who thinks that gun control isn’t running these companies to other states is either suffering from denial or is outright delusional.

As PTA Industries notes, their entire product line is basically illegal in their home state. Of course they’d move somewhere that their own employees can buy their products lawfully.

Connecticut’s gun laws might be well-intended–for the sake of argument, let’s say they are–but the impact on a significant portion of the state’s manufacturing base is real and was clearly not considered as they enacted these measures. Well, now they’re paying for that as they’re losing jobs and tax revenue from more and more of these manufacturers.

I’m sorry,  but you can’t dump on an entire industry and have them thank you for it. 

How many Connecticut politicians call these products “weapons of war” that have no business on our streets? How many have referred to the people who sold these products as “merchants of death”? 

They deny these firearms to the people of Connecticut. They want to deny these firearms to the American people. Then they want to use tax revenue they get from these companies to fund at least some of their anti-gun efforts. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see why these companies are jumping ship.

The only shocking thing to me is that it took them this long.