By my reading of this bill, if this passes, Kahr and Smith & Wesson are going to have to leave the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Massachusetts has generally been careful to avoid passing anything so onerous it would cause problems for the flagship gun company. It’s not easy to just pick up a manufacturing operation and move it, but I don’t see that they’d have a choice, since the mandated technology doesn’t effectively exist. California, which as far as I know is the only other state to mandate this, left the decision to implement the law in the hands of state officials. So far, to my knowledge, there’s been no actual implementation of any of these laws. The Massachusetts bill doesn’t seem to have this type of clause, so it would effectively ban sale, manufacturing and distribution of all firearms within the Bay State.
18 thoughts on “Real Trouble in Massachusetts”
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I’m happier with no discretion clause here; it reduces the chance of passage, and makes the decision to move/sue easier if it does.
Chance of passage, thankfully, is not all that high anyways. We’ve had microstamping bills killed before a couple of times.
I say let the bill pass …
It’s about time these collectivists see what their worldview entails.
Shaw just closed a good-sized plant in Trenton, GA … might be a good place to relocate to.
I know the residents (not to mention the state) would appreciate the jobs.
This is what the NY microstamping bill would do as well to Remington & Kimber.
I certainly hope that PA courts both of these gun makers. Their is plenty of skilled machining labor in eastern PA.
Not sure on this one. MA Democrats love to stick to the western / conservative areas of the state. That is why the western suburbs got to pay for the Big Dig with Mass Pike toll hikes while all the benefits went to the north/south liberal voting commuters.
But, this bill would kill the two big liberal areas of western MA – Worcester and Springfield. So, it probably won’t pass.
We’d be happy to see them move here to Utah.
I hear Governor Scott Walker just passed some business tax cuts and would welcome new business to WI….
As a resident, I can tell you that this bill gets introduced every year, and never goes anywhere
Not just the manufacturing. According to my reading, it would also ban all sales in MA of any semi-auto manufactured after the first of 2012 if it doesn’t have the mythical microstamping capability.
and
Not only could dealers no longer even get older semi-autos from out of state for their inventory, it would also ban private purchases of older, otherwise AWB-compliant semi-autos from out of state, since all interstate transfers have to go through an FFL, and no FFL could accept it into inventory unless it microstamps.
It looks like it would allow transfers of older semi-autos that are already in the state, but I expect that prices will at least triple.
Well, Jake, the Supreme Court DID say “reasonable” 2nd Amendment regulations are ok….
lol, I can’t say that with a straight face.
“It’s not easy to just pick up a manufacturing operation and move it”
There have been three major gun companies move from high-tax New England states in the last two years – most notably Marlin.
Two smaller firearms companies have left Illinois in the last four years too.
We’ll be glad to have their businesses in our state any day!
Dann in Ohio
Dear Smith & Wesson,
New Hampshire is open for business!
Sincerely,
The Republican House and Senate Supermajorities
They should put a microstamp that read’s
“Hope you !@#$% idiots can read this!”
Everyone I asks can usually figure out how to bypass this “technology” within 30 seconds..
“Uh, file it off” B-I-N-G-O
Soooo, this would apply to all LEO firearms too, right?
What a shame if Officer Friendly discovers that hecan’t get a replacement. And if he can carry an illegal gun, than why are the citizens….never mind. They are the ONLY oNES. Laws won’t apply to them.
I’m with Bruce on this one. NH would love some more industry. And only a short drive from their present repressive location.
The manufacturers might just start microetching a serial number on their firing pins, which would last at least as long as it takes to make one imprint on the first test round fired from the gun. Then the gun can be sold. It just increases the cost to the consumer for no good reason, unless that is the point of the exercise.
This after S&W closed down the NH Thompson Center plant, at the cost of 350 or so jobs, so they could get State subsidies for “creating” some 120 jobs in Massachusetts.