Minnesota became the hot seat of the gun control debate this week when President Obama made his first campaign stop in Minneapolis on Monday, February 4 to rally up support for his recent gun control legislation proposals. The White House reports the president chose the largely Democratic state as his first stop to push his anti-gun agenda because of Minneapolis’ success with programs curbing gun violence.
During the same week as the President’s visit, the Public Safety, Finance & Policy of Minnesota House of Representatives are holding a week-long set of hearings on House Bill 241 introduced on January 31, 2013. Essentially an assault weapons ban, the bill makes it a crime to make, transfer, or posses an assault weapon. H.F. 241 defines an assault weapon as a semi-automatic rifle that will accept any detachable magazine and one of the following traits:
- Pistol grip
- Thumbhole stock
- Any feature that acts as a protruding grip held with the non-trigger finger
- Folding or telescoping stock
- Guns with fixed magazines that hold more than seven rounds
- Conversion kit, part or a combination of parts to assemble an assault rifle
The bill also defines prohibited persons owning firearms, including ex-members of any armed forces with a dishonorable discharge. It also includes a grandfather clause for people who owned an “assault rifle” before February 1, 2013. According to the bill, those who have a grandfathered in rifle have until September 1, 2013 to either:
- Surrender the gun for destruction
- Make the gun inoperable
- Register the weapon, including a background check for possession of the gun
On Wednesday, February 6, 2013, Adam Ballard, the product manager at DPMS Panther Arms located in St. Cloud, Minnesota, testified in opposition to the bill. DPMS is an established black rifle company that has been supplying civilians, law enforcement and military with firearms and accessories since 1985. They are the second largest AR-15 manufacturer in the United States.
During Ballard’s testimony, he pointed out the economic contribution that DPMS makes to Minnesota, by employing 115 people with a $3.32 million payroll and millions of dollars in state and federal taxes. The economic impact of an assault weapons ban in Minnesota would not only affect the people who work at DPMS, but also Boberg Arms and Magnum Research. Ballard said Minnesota’s assault weapons ban would put DPMS out of business. On the company’s Facebook page: “This bill would close our doors, put a great number of hard-working Americans out of work and infringe upon the rights of millions of lawful gun owners in Minnesota.” The Senate plans to hold similar hearings on H.F. 241 later in February.
To tell your representatives to vote against an assault weapons ban in Minnesota, visit the NRA-ILA’s Action Center website.
Let me be “that guy”. Just try and make this US Army Infantry veteran’s AR away. I fought to ensure the constitution was defended. Not arbitrarily enforced. The second amendment states that we have the right to bear arms in a well regulated militia. According to the government, the US ARMY National Guard is our well regulated militia, hence the need to disarm the citizens. I mean, makes sense to me. Trust the government, especially if things go awry and a militia is needed. The government signs the National Guards paychecks, I am sure they would love to work for the people instead.
Point being, you wanna take it? You best get the constitution changed.
Makes me wanna move back down south, anywhere away from the stupid state. They don’t even support/take care of veterans up here. Too bad I live paycheck to paycheck in this soul crushing food industry job as I fumble through college to get my 2 year associates art degree to “prove” the train yard I am a good employee that “can show commitment to something, such as college.” (Since my 5 years in active duty and 2 combat tours show no form of commitment anymore)
It’s broken people. It’s minnesota today,
be warned, its your state tomorrow.
I just hope someone in the house/senate remembers to read the constitution…
P.S.
My purple heart license plate on my car shows i won’t just back down
sorry to be “that guy”
DPMS would only have to relocate about 80 to 100 miles to cross the river and move into God’s country here in Wisconsin. I know of a couple of facilities and towns that would welcome them with open arms and has the skilled workforce already in place and ready to WORK!
I’m ashamed to say I grew up in that very, very blue state of Minnesota. Fortunately, as it pertains to gun rights, I no longer live there… Come to Michigan…we are now a Right to Work State!! And if you relocate to the UP, similar climate, hard working honest people, and we speak the same …don’tchaknow? You betcha! Eh?
I have read many of the comments. Just one thing I think is missing. WE are the United States,not the independant states of America. If this tyranny starts in one area,it’s like cancer it spreads. Responsible guns owners need to make their voice heard. It’s not just about guns,it’s about a wholesale attack on all of our rights and freedoms. Look at the TSA,state police, Dot. Illegal check points in Arizona (looks a lot like 1938 in Germany) These guys are all paramilitary. What happened to PROTECT AND SERVE. We need to replace any legislator that is willing to compromise our rights as free people. Not the SHEEPLE.
To Alan S #47 We are sorry to say that MO is enacting a illegal law on Weapons don’t think they would be welcome there. Come to UTAH we love guns here.
To DaveD #50….which is better, closing or relocating? By not moving, everybody is out of a job.
You’ve got to remember that moving a company costs quite a bit. Also, not all of your top employees will want to re-locate…look what happened to Marlin.
DPMS should pack up and screw MN. Come to Alabama we would love to have you as our state is reading legislation similar to Montana’s that exempt in state production and sales from federal laws. We have great weather, right to work and NASA .
Take the black rifle the kid used at the Snady hook school and put in the hands of law enforcement or one of our brave solders and they can save lives and they become a hero dose the gun get a medal of a special dinner?
Are anti gun people hypocrites?
We are not tring to control any one, only keep our freedom.
I fully support these companies in their decision not to sell to hypocritical states and local govt’s.
I just wish these companies would take their manufacturing to friendlier states.
I live in MO and we would roll out the Tax Free welcome mat for these companies to setup shop in our state.
Let these liberal anti 2nd Amendment states dry up with no tax base and no funding to feed their socialist agenda.
MOVE TO MISSOURI! We need the Jobs!
My gun will never be registered it will be like an alien- undocumented.
Take a look at the Mishawaka, Indiana area. We have a excellent skilled labor force. Indiana is in the process of passing pro-Gun laws. And it to is a Right-To-Work state. And while your at it bring Magpul and the ammo manufactures with you.
These bans are not within any legislatures scope of authorty to enact, this is a direct violation of the federal constitution and will not be tolerated in MN. The legitimacy of banning legislation such as this is on par with a state legislature saying that blue eyed people may be bought and sold as slaves, for surely if there is an arbitrary line whereby the 2nd amendment can be infringed despite the clear and plain language in the constittuion which denies that, then the language of the 13th amendment must be open to legislatve repeal to an arbitrary degree by them as well. After all, elected officials are a royal class with powers granted by god, and the people are merely subjects or slaves who must submit to whatever they decree.
DPMS, I have owned two of your Rifles for almost 20 years and I have been extremely happy with them. You would be very welcome to relocate to Arkansas. We are still a free state and strong supporters of the 2nd Amendment.
You would be extremely welcome in Oklahoma. I don’t own a DPMS, but I own and operate a Bushmaster. I was born and raised in MN…..I’ll never return, due to the current politics there.
Union County Mississippi has some great property / buildings that are available for DPMS. We have a great workforce and we are GUN FRIENDLY.
WE WELCOME YOU
I own a couple of your “Black Rifles” and very happy with them. I would certainly love to have you relocate, but I highly doubt the Peoples Republic of Illinois would appreciate it much…. LOL….. Come to think of it, don’t bother. I will be leaving this God awful place about 5 minutes after I retire and that day is not far away.
Come to the Ardmore, Ok Industrial Airpark. There’s a foundry there. Airport, rail access. And not one county in Oklahoma went for Obama in the last 2 elections. Business friendly and in the middle of gun country
I read somewhere that some gun manufacturers require a lot of water for their manufacturing process. I understood it has something to do with needing the water for cooling their cutting machinery. That is suppose to be one reason why they like the Great Lakes area. All gun makers [including DPMS] are very welcome to relocate to Oklahoma. We are passing pro-gun legislation to protect gun manufacturers.
Come to North Dakota, We are right next door! I have I un zoned farm land at lansford and will provide some of it for you to build on. We will help you move. I am sure the farmers here will lend their farm shops to you till we get you in a building of your own. Have gun, will travel!
COME TO THE LONESTAR STATE!!!
If they vote it in the people of that State will get what they deserve. There are plenty of other states that would love to have them move their, including the great state of Louisiana.
And California is now considering a confiscation of all ‘assault rifles’.
Seems some states are sucking up to The Dark Lord. Well, being a Minnesotan, all I can say if this is passed is, “How do ‘you’ plan enforcing this? People have not been clearing store shelves of firearms and ammunition as a house cleaning favor.”
Come on down to Texas where we support those who support our 2nd amendment rights. Build your new head quarters in the area northwest of Houston.
Come to Tennessee, We welcome your business.
Screw them. Come on down to Texas. Cost of living is cheaper. Cost of doing business is cheaper. We have a great climate here, reasonable tax rates, reasonable labor costs and we are notoriously business friendly. We love our guns. A lot. Trust me, contact Rick Perry, our illustrious governor. He can give you the right connections, tax breaks, and other incentives to welcome your company to our state. You well never ever hear “we don’t want you do business in Texas”. Although a nice little Texas discount would be nice on your AR’s.
Michigan is a VERY gun AND manufacturing friendly right-to-work state! There are thousands of highly skilled workers, engineers and shops with decades of auto experience to support DPMS! We’re right next door across the Lake with plenty of hunting, fishing, lakes and recreational facilities to make your workers feel right at home. Same climate too!
Come to Arkansas, nonunion state and Remington already has a big plant here
The East coast is a nice place, it might snow once a year, lots of beaches and Babe’s, and there is lots of land for sale here in Currituck co,NC…..and we are in the middle of a ton of Military Installations.
Marbury vs Madison was a communist plot.
Iowa would welcome you are well…NE Iowa has great hard working people, beautiful landscapes, plenty of access to transportation, we are a right to work state!
Move to Oklahoma! We’re gun friendly and recently our state government sent a letter to Remington inviting them to move their operations here.
If I owned the company, I’d would gladly relocate to Texas.
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“At first glance, it may seem odd or even perverse to suggest that statutory controls on the private ownership of firearms are irrelevant to the problem of armed crime: yet that is precisely what the evidence shows. Armed crime and violent crime generally are products of ethnic and social factors unrelated to the availability of a particular type of weapon. The number of firearms required to satisfy the crime market is minute, and these are supplied no matter what controls are instituted. Controls have had serious effect on legitimate users of firearms, but there is no case, either in the history of this country (Britain) or in the experience of other countries in which controls can be shown to have restricted the flow of weapons to criminals, or in any way reduce crime.”
-Chief Inspector Colins Greenwood, West Yorkshire Constabulary, Police Review, Britain after six months of study of firearms control systems at Cambridge University
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“When I began my research on guns in 1976, like most academics, I was a believer in the ‘anti-gun’ thesis. … It seemed then like self-evident common sense which hardly needed to be empirically tested. … [But] the best currently available evidence, imperfect though it is (and must always be), indicates that general gun availability has no measurable net positive effect on rates of homicide, suicide, robbery, assault, rape, or burglary in the U.S. … Further, when victims have guns, it is less likely aggressors will attack or injure them and less likely they will lose property in a robbery. … The positive associations often found between aggregate levels of violence and gun ownership appear to be primarily due to violence increasing gun ownership, rather than the reverse.”
-Prof. Gary Kleck, Florida State University School of Criminology, from a speech given to the National Academy of Sciences in 1991, as reported by Don B. Kates, Jr. in “Shot Down”, National Review, March 6, 1995, pages 49-54
House Bill 241 introduced on January 31, 2013. Essentially an assault weapons ban, “the bill makes it a crime to make, transfer, or posses an assault weapon. H.F. 241 defines an assault weapon as a semi-automatic rifle that will accept any detachable magazine and one of the following traits:
Pistol grip
Thumbhole stock
Any feature that acts as a protruding grip held with the non-trigger finger
Folding or telescoping stock
Guns with fixed magazines that hold more than seven rounds
Conversion kit, part or a combination of parts to assemble an assault rifle”
How about the wise legistlators in MN ALSO ban any movie, book, photo or description of the above evil rifles?? Wouldnt want anyone to get any ideas!! If youre going to destroy the second ammendment in MN, why not trash the first as well?? See how far that gets now.
Come on down to the Great State of Oklahoma. You would not only create jobs here but the business would boom. Lawton OK, located around plenty of military folks would welcom you.
I hope doesn’t happen in California we already got hit one time
and I Support the NRA I hope they help out
MICHIGAN Welcomes you to build them here Just give Gov Snyder a call!
We’re a Right to work state now.
Agreed. Come to Texas, or if you prefer to have a winter, head on over to Utah. Two of the greatest states in the US. Both states would welcome you with open arms. Talk to Senator Mike Lee of Utah or Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, both are great men who hold fast to the principles of the Constitution.
Keep Obama up there with u no one likes him here in florida.gov,sen.we welcome guns here.
you are welcome in south carolina
I’m not letting so idiots run dpms out Minnesota they be fine here.
The Dederal Government needs to STAND DOWN. The citizens and legislators of the STATES need to remember the 10th Amendment, and STOP the federal power grab!!
Idaho… Welcomes all gun manufactures. We have special economic zones set up for weapons manufactures with tax incentives, great people and a greater work life balance.
The bill has provisions that violate Article I, Section 9, Clause 3 of the US Constitution in that it would be an Ex Post Facto Law. In essence, it is unconstitutional for them to apply this bill to firearms that were owned by individuals on 31 Jan 13.
They should also talk to the folks at Mills Fleetfarm, HQ in Brainerd, MN with 32 locations and 6000 emplyees.
By all means come on down to the Great State of Mississippi. You are welcome here!!!
SC is asking for all you northern gun manufactures to relocate here where you’d be appreciated. I know for a fact we are working on Remington Arms at the moment. DPMS would be welcome too.
Come to Texas. My son and I own DPMS’s. Others at work bought them. Y’all are welcomed down here.
All y’all are more than welcome to come on down to Texas! Not only do we have a thriving economy, but no state income taxes. That, our love of firearms of all kinds and our overall opposition to the Left’s gun grabbing would make Texas a wonderful place to make your new home.
I’m ashamed to say I used to be a Minnesotan for a long time…glad I got out of there.
Isn’t that where Jessie Ventura comes from? figures.
Hey, we welcome you to the Great State of Wyoming, too! Our legislators and Governor are fine people who understand the importance for hunters, marksmen, and citizens of being able to own and use firearms in our state. COME ON DOWN! We welcome you with open arms. It’s a pretty nice place to live too.
Florida welcomes DPMS…
This is something that has had me laughing (in a head-shaking way) at the libs this whole time. They keep saying they’re adding more and more jobs. That the future is looking bright. The economy is turning around. As soon as I heard about the new AWB, my thoughts went immediately to all those employed in the firearms industry and all of the smaller businesses that prop up the bigger businesses (I used to work for a foundry that produces parts for DPMS, Remington, Savage, Colt, Armalite, etc. We were extremely anti-liberal until our anti-liberal founders sold out to a liberal investor company). Hundreds of thousands of jobs would be affected by their new AWB. But hey now, that doesn’t matter. Just keep swallowing what they’re shoveling. Be good sheeple and everything will be just fine. (The last few sentences were sarcasm, just to clarify) The cowards and power-hungry are taking our rights and tossing them aside. They’re doing anything and everything to control us. These are scary times.
DPMS can move to South Dakota and join the other manufacturers here. And the tax incentives.
Theres no doubt that this ban would have a huge e conomic impact across our nation. With a soft economy as it is,this is another down side to their nonsense plan.
This is how the regime plans to disarm Americans… Little bites of the elephant. By securing bastions of martial law (personal weapon confiscations), pressure can be placed on adjacent states to follow suit. Get ready people. Soon we will all have to decide just how much The 2nd Amendment means to us; FOR REAL!
My wife’s AR is a DPMS. They will be welcomed with open arms in Georgia where they will find a good workforce in a right-to-work red state. Come on down! And it’s a lot warmer in the winter here.