It looks like Maryland’s gun laws are scaring away business.
Firearm manufacturer Beretta U.S.A. will leave its factory in Accokeek, Maryland and move to a facility currently under construction Gallatin, Tennessee because of Maryland’s tight gun laws, according to a press release posted on the company’s website Tuesday.
“During the legislative session in Maryland that resulted in passage of the Firearm Safety Act of 2013, the version of the statute that passed the Maryland Senate would have prohibited Beretta U.S.A. from being able to manufacture, store or even import into the State products that we sell to customers throughout the United States and around the world,” detailed Beretta U.S.A. General Manager Jeff Cooper.
He explained that despite the reversal of some of the “obstructive provisions,” the company remains worried at “the possibility that such restrictions might be reinstated.” Cooper labeled it crucial to the company’s “future welfare” to make the move.
The Tennessee facility will be under construction until the middle of 2015, after which Beretta will permanently leave the Maryland location. Over a five year span, the company expects to employ 300 individuals at the new facility and to spend $45 million on equipment and building expenses.
Maryland employees need not fret just yet, though. Their positions will not be affected for several months, and the company is also offering them the prospect of relocating to remain employed.
“We will use this time to meet with every Beretta U.S.A. employee whose Maryland job might be affected by the move to discuss with them their interest in taking a position at our new facility in Tennessee or, if they are not willing to do so, to lay out a long-term strategy for remaining with the Company while our production in Maryland continues,” assured Cooper.
After the Connecticut shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, encouraged the new firearm restrictions in the state.
“We’re disappointed with this decision,” said O’Malley spokeswoman Nina Smith of Beretta’s move, according to The Washington Post. “But the common-sense gun safety law we passed, which includes licenses for handgun purchases, is keeping schools, communities and law enforcement personnel safe.”
