By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte isn’t even being subtle about it. He’s launched a video campaign aimed directly at gunmakers in Colorado to move north, where they will find a far friendlier business climate than in the Centennial State, where Democrat Gov. Jared Polis just signed restrictive gun legislation.
Gianforte, a Republican, says it plainly: “Do you want to move back to America?” He quickly adds, “Montana is open for business.”
It is no secret that Montana officials have been visiting with gun companies over the past few years by attending the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas. But now with Polis having inked what even CBS News admitted in a headline is “one of the most restrictive gun laws in the country,” the Big Sky Country might be eve more appealing.
It would not be the first time a major firearms-related business picked up and moved out. The most high-profile of those departures was Magpul Industries, founded move than 20 years ago in Boulder. As detailed at Wikipedia, “Magpul announced its intention to leave the state in 2013 when a proposed magazine capacity law would cause many of its products to become illegal in Colorado. After passage of the law, Magpul relocated its production facilities to Wyoming and corporate offices to Austin, Texas.”
According to Fox News, Gianforte was matter-of-fact about his view of the new Colorado statute.
“Our Second Amendment is very clear,” the governor observed. “It says the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. This bill outlaws some of the most popular firearms used for sporting and self-defense. It’s a violation of the Second Amendment.”
Gianforte told Fox News Digital he had contacted six Colorado-based firearms companies and five have already said they would be coming north to visit Montana. He indicated all of the companies he spoke with are ready to leave the Centennial State for friendlier surroundings.
Colorado is on the list of a dozen states identified in a recent letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms regarding possible investigation by the newly-created Second Amendment Task Force within the Justice Department. The states are now being referred to as the “Dirty Dozen” by gun rights bloggers and YouTubers.
CCRKBA has launched an online petition in an effort to keep this issue on the front burner.
While Colorado is on the list, Montana is not.
