The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) released a new video asking the public to consider the gun industry’s impact on the Connecticut economy before legislators “rush” into new gun-control laws.
NSSF, based in Newtown, represents 7,000 firearm companies nationwide, including every major gun manufacturer.
The 25-minute video features interviews from three executives at Connecticut-based gun manufactures and their employees. Overall, the video’s message says limiting access and banning guns to “law-abiding citizens” would have an adverse affect on gun companies, which may force them to relocate to another state. Instead of a ban, the group calls for more discussions on the issue to get to the root of the problem.
“I don”™t want to think about leaving here, this is our home. This is where our families are,” said Mark Malkowski, president of Stag Arms L.L.C. in New Britian. “I think the most important thing is that we can sit down and work together and have that off the table.”
Following Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposal last week to ban AR-15 semiautomatic rifles, NSSF also issued a statement condemning the governor’s seeming impatience.
“We do not believe a rush to quick-fix legislation is likely to produce real public safety solutions, while it holds the clear potential to hurt good-paying manufacturing jobs in our state,” the statement said. “We applaud the General Assembly”™s bipartisan task force for working to fully evaluate all the issues and points of view, including that of our industry, in an effort to craft an effective public policy response. We hope the governor will give the General Assembly the opportunity to get it right.”
According to one study, the firearms industry in 2011 directly employed about 3,000 jobs in Connecticut and generated about $1.7 billion of economic activity.
