The Longest Running Firearms Facility In America Is Shutting Its Doors In Democrat-Led New York - 'Two Hundred And Eight Years Of History, Gone'

The oldest arms manufacturing plant in America is shuttering its doors at the beginning of March to move from the Democrat-led New York to the Republican state of Georgia, where the firearms industry is welcomed. The move, which has shocked the local community, will leave at least 300 Ilion, New York natives without work.

In a memo to employees late last year, company executives wrote to staff, "I am writing to inform you that RemArms, LLC has decided to close its entire operation at 14 Hoefler Avenue, NY 13357. The Company expects that operations at the Ilion Facility will conclude on or about March 4, 2024." The plant, which was opened in 1828, had seen significant issues over the past two decades, particularly after the families of those killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, sued the company for the use of a Remington' Bushmaster's AR-15 in the school shooting. A $73 million settlement was eventually reached with the families.

In addition to the lawsuit, Remington also faced the sweeping and restrictive gun laws of New York, which began when the legislature passed the Safe Act in 2013. Laws such as these eventually led Remington to open a new plan in Alabama and consider moving the rest of their operation to Georgia. Ilion is located just west of Albany, New York, and about 230 miles northwest of Manhattan.

"Two hundred and eight years of history. Gone, gone," Ilion Mayor John P. Stephens told the New York Times. "Ilion is Remington. Remington is Ilion." 

"When Remington leaves, it's not going to be like a facility leaving. It's going to be like part of your family has moved off," retired Remington employee Jim Conover told the Associated Press. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who represents Ilion, took to X to slam the left-wing policies that pushed Remington out of the small upstate New York village. "Remington Arms has been one of # NY21's most beloved employers for decades," she wrote. "Kathy Hochul's attack on [the Second Amendment] will yet again cost hundreds of hardworking families in Upstate New York their jobs. Truly despicable."

As Democrat-led states continue to put increasing regulations on companies and make it more difficult to do business in their states, more and more investors will decide to go elsewhere. Remington joins a long list of enterprises that have relocated from blue states like New York or California and moved to more business-friendly environments like Texas, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and other localities. Perhaps if Democrats realized the devastating impact that these departures have on their everyday citizens, they would rethink the regulatory policies that have pushed out so many businesses.

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