No bluff, just fact!
Back on February 25, 2013, it was announced that Beretta USA, the domestic division of the Italian firearms manufacturer, had informed the state of Maryland that it would move operations out of the state if a law aimed at the Second Amendment was enacted. Jeff Reh, a member of the Board of Directors for Beretta U.S.A. Corp., told lawmakers that the company opposed Maryland Senate bill 281, otherwise known as the Firearm Safety Act of 2013.
In a letter to lawmakers, Beretta’s Jeff Reh said legislation proposed by Gov. Martin O’Malley will “treat as dangerous millions of people who lawfully and safely own semi-automatic rifles and the tens of millions of people who lawfully and safely own magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. It tells those people that you can protect your life, your family or your business, even against multiple assailants, as long as you can get do so in 10 rounds or less. It tells all of these people that in Maryland there is a limit on the extent to which you can exercise your 2nd Amendment rights, a limit that does not apply, by the way, to police officers who buy these products for the same protective reasons that are desired by the general public.”
“Enact such measures at your own risk,” the company told lawmakers, according to Bizpac Review.
Guess what!
Beretta, one of the world’s leading gun manufacturers, announced that they will be moving manufacturing operations to Gallatin, Tennessee bringing more than 300 jobs to the region.
One of the great things about living in a federal republic is the ability to pick up and move away from a region that is suffering from socio-political decay. Moving a business is an aggravating and expensive thing to have to do, but at least we are still free to do it! Hopefully, the pendulum will swing back for the people of Maryland. In the meantime, the people of Tennessee are reaping the reward of several hundred new jobs.
/fl