Remington Closes Up Shop in NY After 200 Years, Heads for More Welcoming Red State
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
One of the most fascinatingly infuriating idioms of the left is their utter inability to think more than a single step — if even that — ahead.
To the left, every issue can be “solved” with some sort of emotional outburst or half-baked plan, irrespective of any potential consequences three or four steps down the road.
And few examples make that clearer than the left’s never-ending crusade against the Second Amendment.
To the far left, getting rid of guns will somehow stop all wanton murder in the country.
Now, if you were to say that getting rid of unjust murder in America was your ultimate end goal, in and of itself, that’s a perfectly noble, if not naive, goal.
The issue is that the left has utterly convinced itself that the only way to stop murder on a meaningful level in the country is to outlaw guns or harass perfectly law-abiding citizens.
Spoiler alert: This should go without saying, but harassing law-abiding citizens and outlawing guns will do less than nothing to deter the criminal element. Just look at the frequency and size of shootings in states with restrictive gun laws.
But apart from the inefficiency of the left’s “solution” to America’s issues, they are also incapable of thinking on a more macro level.
Do you know what happens when you spend ceaseless breath attacking someone’s integrity, character, and purpose in society on a daily basis? That someone will tend not to like you very much and probably look to get away from you.
And that’s exactly what the iconic RemArms, the current iteration of the historic Remington Arms Company, and one of the most recognizable and largest gun manufacturers in the country, has decided to do with one of its New York facilities.
Ilion, which is a village in Herkimer County, New York, will be losing its facility in March 2024 according to letters sent to union leaders obtained by the Utica Observer-Dispatch.
It can’t be understated how big of a deal this is: Ilion is the literal birthplace of Remington, as the company was founded there. They’ve been manufacturing guns there since 1816… which is well over 200 years worth of history.
And yes, the facility closure will involve layoffs and swathes of people losing their jobs.
As to who should shoulder the blame for this abrupt closure, local Republican lawmakers put out a joint statement stopping just short of calling out Democrat hostility as the reason RemArms was leaving.
“Unfortunately, like we have seen all too often in New York,” the statement said, according to the Observer-Dispatch, “burdensome regulations, crippling taxes and problematic energy and other policies continue to force businesses and companies to flee the state, taking jobs and livelihoods with them.
“We will continue to communicate with state and federal officials and work to help and assist the company’s employees and their families during this difficult time.”
GOP New York Rep. Elise Stefanik did not stop short of calling out Democrats.
“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 noted as part of that joint statement. “I have spoken with local officials and Remington Arms union members in United Mine Workers of America, Local 717 about how we must stand up to New York’s failed unconstitutional gun bans.”
But if you needed to hear it from the horse’s mouth itself, RemArms included some not-so-subtle allusions to why it left in an auto-reply email that The Hill reported on.
“RemArms is excited to expand our facilities in Georgia,” the auto replay email stated, before adding that the Peach State “not only welcomes business but enthusiastically supports and welcomes companies in the firearms industry.”
Far-left Democrat actions, half-baked plans and emotional outbursts have consequences.
It’s sad that the workers of the Ilion RemArms facility are the ones who are paying for it.
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