Beretta to move out of Maryland due to gun-control laws
Published July 22, 2014
Associated Press

ACCOKEEK, Md. – Beretta U.S.A. announced Tuesday that company concerns over a strict gun-control law enacted in Maryland last year have made it necessary to move its weapons making out of the state to Tennessee.

The well-known gun maker said it will move to a new production facility it is building in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin that is set to open in mid-2015.

Beretta general manager Jeff Cooper said that a sweeping gun-control measure that was passed last year initially contained provisions that would have prohibited the Italian gun maker from being able to produce, store or even import into Maryland the products that the company sells around the world. While the legislation was changed to remove some of those provisions, Cooper said the possibility that such restrictions could be reinstated left the company worried about maintaining a firearm-making factory in Maryland.

"While we had originally planned to use the Tennessee facility for new equipment and for production of new product lines only, we have decided that it is more prudent from the point of view of our future welfare to move the Maryland product lines in their entirety to the new Tennessee facility," Cooper said in a news release announcing the move.

The company anticipates the plant in more gun-friendly Tennessee will involve a $45 million investment in building and equipment and employ about 300 people during the next five years. Beretta said it has no plans to relocate its office, administrative and executive support functions from Accokeek, Maryland.

"Beretta is one of the world's great companies, and its commitment to excellence and Tennessee's rich history in manufacturing make a great match," Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam's spokesman Dave Smith said in an email.

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley pushed for the legislation last year in response to the December 2012 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The law, which went into effect last fall, includes a ban on 45 assault weapons and a limit on gun magazines to 10 bullets. It also contains a variety of other provisions, including a licensing requirement for handgun purchasers to submit fingerprints to the state police.

"We're disappointed with this decision, but the common-sense gun safety law we passed, which includes licenses for handgun purchases, is keeping schools, communities and law enforcement personnel safe," said Nina Smith, an O'Malley spokeswoman.

Beretta has operated in Italy since 1526. The family-owned company makes a variety of firearms, ranging from hunting shotguns to pistols for the U.S. Armed Forces. Beretta started operations in Maryland in the late 1970s. The plant in Accokeek makes finished pistols from raw materials for the military, law enforcement, and civilian markets.

Beretta said the transition from Maryland to Tennessee will be managed so as not to disrupt deliveries to Beretta customers.

The company noted that production of the U.S. Armed Forces M9 9 mm Beretta pistol will continue at Accokeek until all current orders from the U.S. Armed Forces have been filled. Cooper said no Maryland employee will be impacted for many months, and the company will meet with employees to discuss their interest in taking a position in Tennessee.

It is funny when politician use the words "Common Sense", its something that they possess very little of.

You only get 10 bullets, use them wisely, use common sense and buy two handguns so you can have 20 bullets. You wanna keep those law enforcement personnel safe, wonder how many bullets they're restricted to, or maybe they just carry more guns too. I think the bad guys will have a field day in Maryland. Fingerprinting the good guys is a must have....don't know why but they always think it's prudent. Nuthin like well documented good guys, helps separate them from the other good guys.


common
sense
Suz

Good on em.
Nothing hurts a polly more than the fiscal finger being given.
Goodbye tax from Beretta, hello greater unemployment, all that with exactly no impact on the crime rate.
These guys are f#£%&*g genius's.

Loss of income/taxes, increased unemployment...just what every Govt needs to show them that they have stuffed up. But realistically, I don't think the Governor will give a damn one way or the other, he has an agenda and like all pollies, they don't care about the fallout from their decisions, so long as they achieve their aims.

Oh well, Maryland's loss, Tennessee's gain.

Vince wrote:

Loss of income/taxes, increased unemployment...just what every Govt needs to show them that they have stuffed up. But realistically, I don't think the Governor will give a damn one way or the other, he has an agenda and like all pollies, they don't care about the fallout from their decisions, so long as they achieve their aims. Oh well, Maryland's loss, Tennessee's gain.

Gov O'Malley couldn't care less Very unrealistic gun laws here.. If it wasn't for the liberal bag limits on deer I would go back to PA..

Another example of why we don't need federal gun laws. Let states like Maryland, NY, CA, IL, and Conneticut deal with higher crime due to their actions. It gives the rest of us a choice for a safer place to live.

Looking at this map kind pf reminds me of the old Mason-Dixon line.



Wonder who'll win this time?

We [the consumer] will.

The map leaves out Remington's HQ, in Madison, NC.

Excellent posts! I agree. All the best...
Gil

Good for Beretta..

I only wish more would move out here to Utah. We've had Browning since the beginning, and Barnes Bullets but thats about it. We'd love a few more big MFG's




-DallanC

Suzanne wrote:

You only get 10 bullets, use them wisely, use common sense and buy two handguns so you can have 20 bullets. common sense Suz

You think like I do, Suz. Since Massachusetts limits mags to 10 rounds, I carry a S&W .38 along with my 9mm semi-auto. Oddly, though, I consider the snubby .38 my primary, and the full-sized 9mm my backup gun. I am slightly faster on-target drawing the .38, plus - it is a revolver and so is more reliable (even though I have never had a malfunction with the auto).