Monday, December 24, 2012
Just like some fucking sports team
One of the biggest obstacles to effective regulation of guns is the manufacturers themselves. And one of their most effective tactics is identical to that used by sports teams to scam the public into building their arenas for them.
One after another, they testified that the technology, called microstamping, was flawed and would increase the cost of guns.One more reason why any regulation needs to be national.
But the witness who commanded the most attention in Hartford that day in 2009 was a representative of one of Connecticut’s major employers: the Colt Manufacturing Company, the gun maker.
The Colt executive, Carlton S. Chen, said the company would seriously consider leaving the state if the bill became law. “You would think that the Connecticut government would be in support of our industry,” Mr. Chen said.
Soon, Connecticut lawmakers shelved the bill; they have declined to take it up since. Now, in the aftermath of the school massacre in Newtown, the lawmakers are formulating new gun-control measures, saying the state must serve as a national model.
But the failed effort to enact the microstamping measure shows how difficult the climate has been for gun control in state capitals. The firearm companies have played an important role in defeating these measures by repeatedly warning that they will close factories and move jobs if new state regulations are approved.
The companies have issued such threats in several states, especially in the Northeast, where gun control is more popular.
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