The iconic gun manufacturer Remington Arms is closing its factory in Ilion, New York, and relocating to Georgia after operating for over 200 years in the state.
According to Fox Business, Remington is the oldest gun manufacturer in the United States. Union officials were notified last year that the company had decided to close its New York manufacturing facility in March. The company is relocating its operations to Georgia, where the gun manufacturing industry is welcomed.
“Two hundred and eight years of history. Gone, gone,” Ilion, New York, Mayor John P. Stephens told The New York Times. “Ilion is Remington. Remington is Ilion.”
The Daily Mail reported that the relocation of the gun manufacturing company will result in roughly 300 individuals losing their jobs in Ilion. Stephens told The Daily Mail that the village also anticipates a $1 million loss in revenue.
“It’s like the town is losing its soul,” he said. “It’s almost like losing a family member. That’s the thing that people are struggling with, the nostalgia, the history. It feels like we are losing the identity of the town.”
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The Associated Press reported that Remington has cited high costs at the New York facility as a contributing factor to the company’s decision to relocate; however, both U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Republican State Sen. Mark Walczyk have blamed New York’s strict gun laws for forcing Remington to relocate to Georgia.
“It is because of New York Democrats’ unconstitutional gun grab policies that the oldest gun manufacturer in the country has been run out of the state,” Stefanik previously said in a press release. “Hochul must stop her unconstitutional assault on the Second Amendment now.”
According to Fox Business, Walczyk has blamed New York’s Gun Industry Liability Law for forcing the iconic gun manufacturer out of the Empire State. The gun law was signed in 2021 by former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and allows gun manufacturers to be sued if they “knowingly or recklessly create, maintain or contribute” to violence.
Despite being forced out of New York State, Remington Arms CEO Ken D’Arcy has expressed excitement about the company’s move to a state that supports the Second Amendment.
“We are very excited to come to Georgia, a state that not only welcomes business but enthusiastically supports and welcomes companies in the firearms industry,” D’Arcy said last fall. “Everyone involved in this process has shown how important business is to the state and how welcoming they are to all business, including the firearms industry.”
