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Connecticut gun makers demand apology from governor

Gun makers in Connecticut accuse Gov. Dannel Malloy of insulting them and creating a hostile climate for their industry.


Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signs new gun control legislation April 4. Gun makers in the state
accuse him of creating a hostile environment for their industry. (Steven Senne, Associated Press / April 21, 2013)

By Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant
April 21, 2013

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut's gun manufacturers are accusing Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of creating a hostile work environment and essentially driving them out of the state with comments they view as offensive.

The clash reached a flash point in early April when Malloy, a Democrat, gave an interview to CNN's Candy Crowley. "What this is about is the ability of the gun industry to sell as many guns to as many people as possible, even if they're deranged, even if they're mentally ill, even if they have a criminal record," he said. "They don't care."

Those comments prompted outrage in the gun industry.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a Newtown-based trade association, wants an apology. And O.F. Mossberg & Sons, a North Haven gun maker with 270 employees, said the comments were "slanderous" to its employees.

Mossberg, the oldest family-owned gun maker in the nation, expressed displeasure in a letter from its general counsel, Joseph H. Bartozzi.

"To set the record straight, our company and our employees have gone on record at public hearings and with our elected legislators as stating that the single biggest thing this state can do to stop the criminal misuse of firearms is to prevent access to firearms by prohibited or other at-risk individuals," Bartozzi wrote.

Malloy's comments, he said, "came across as insulting and slanderous to our employees and to our industry, and appear to be politically motivated as opposed to constructive or meaningful.''

Malloy stood his ground. "The governor thinks about jobs and economic development 24 hours a day. However, on this particular issue, his focus is first and foremost on public safety," his spokesman said. "The bill he signed into law will improve public safety and make Connecticut's communities and families safer. We hope the gun industry will join us in that effort."

Bartozzi suggested that Mossberg could leave the state. "At a time when we are being encouraged to move our manufacturing facility to any one of several states, your words have made us feel ... decidedly unappreciated."

Some gun makers also have raised the possibility that their companies could face boycotts from those who object to Connecticut's new gun laws. Larry Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said buyers know where their firearms are made.

"A Mossberg shotgun will say North Haven, Conn. Federal law requires certain markings to be placed on the firearm. It will have the serial number. It will have the name of the city and state where it is manufactured.... The consumer is highly motivated and highly aware, politically — more than consumers of other products," Keane said. "They take these things into consideration.''

Keane called for the governor to apologize. "I think he should apologize to the manufacturers in the state for his comments, first off, and he ought to reconsider the law he signed. It is going to drive manufacturing jobs out of the state," he said.

Indiana, New Hampshire and South Dakota are trying to recruit Connecticut companies, Keane said. One company, Bristol-based rifle maker PTR Industries, has already announced that it is leaving.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-conn-gunmakers-20130421,0,4138105.story