The domestic arm of Beretta, Italy’s respected gunmaker, is considering pulling up stakes from its 35-year home in Maryland and moving on to greener pastures.
The Aurora Theater shooting and the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre have started a war with clearly-defined battle lines. On one side, lawmakers are furiously drafting gun control bills to prove to their constituents they’re actually doing more than attending cocktail parties.
On the other side are arms manufacturers and gun enthusiasts who foresee the very real possibility of their livelihood being stripped away and their Second Amendment rights denied in the heat of passion.
Some armorers have banded together and vowed to refuse to do business with any state enacting strict gun control measures.
Beretta is taking an even more direct approach, telling Maryland: “Enact such measures at your own risk,” according to The Washington Post. Beretta is considering moving its operations to another state if Maryland infringes on the Second Amendment rights of Beretta’s clientele.
In the Obama age of high unemployment, this is no empty threat.
Firearms today are a growth industry building for expansion, but firms like Beretta face a dilemma.
“Why expand in a place where the people who built the gun couldn’t buy it?” Jeffrey Reh, general counsel for Beretta, told The Washington Post.