PTR Industries, a Bristol, Conn.-based gun manufacturer, has kept its word to leave the Constitution state and head toward sunnier, less gun-restrictive pastures in South Carolina.
The company’s move to Aynor, S.C. makes it the first Connecticut-based gun manufacturer to leave the state after Gov. Dannel Malloy signed into law some of the harshest gun control restrictions in the country.
Connecticut’s new laws expanded the state’s ban on assault weapons, banned ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds and broadened background checks, wrecking havoc on the business practices of local gun manufacturers.
“One hundred percent of our product line is now illegal in Connecticut due to that law,” John McNamara, PTR Industries’ vice president for sales, told CBS Charlotte.
PTR Industries will make a formal announcement about the move during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in South Carolina with Gov. Nikki Haley (R) on Monday. Forty-one of the company’s current employees are expected to move with the firm, according to CBS Charlotte.
Other gun manufacturers in Connecticut, including Stag Arms, are also considering moving out of the state to escape the new laws. In Colorado, Magpul Industries has also already begun its moving operations out of the state. Gun manufacturer Beretta is also considering abandoning its headquarters in Prince George’s County, Maryland headquarters because of the state’s new gun control laws.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) had met with PTR Industries’ leadership earlier this month in the hopes of swaying them to move to the Lone Star State.
