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Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell, from left, Si Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” and U.S. Consultant Tim Burchett, R-Tenn, maintain their ceremonial scissors Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, after serving to lower the ribbon to formally open the brand new Smith & Wesson facility in Maryville, Tenn.
Scott Keller/The Each day Instances by way of AP
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gun producer Smith & Wesson hosted a grand opening of its new Tennessee headquarters Saturday after shifting from its longtime residence in Massachusetts to a extra gun-friendly state.
The corporate constructed a brand new 650,000-square toes (60,387-square meters) headquarters in Maryville, Tennessee, as a part of a $125 million relocation plan introduced in 2021. Excursions had been supplied on the new facility on Saturday.
The gunmaker had been positioned in Springfield, Massachusetts, because the mid-Nineteenth century, however firm officers have stated legislative proposals in that state would prohibit them from manufacturing sure weapons. Massachusetts is understood to have a few of the nation’s strictest gun legal guidelines.
Smith & Wesson President and CEO Mark Smith spoke on the occasion Saturday, which drew a big crowd to the brand new facility, The Each day Instances reported.
“From the place I stand, the subsequent 170 years of Smith & Wesson are wanting fairly good,” Smith stated. “It’s one thing particular right here in Tennessee.”
He cited a welcoming regulatory setting and shut collaboration with the Tennessee state authorities as an important piece of the plan to relocate. The corporate has stated the brand new facility would create a whole bunch of jobs.
Tennessee has moved to loosen gun restrictions in recent times beneath Republican management. In 2021, the state handed a regulation to permit most adults 21 and older to hold handguns with out a allow that requires first clearing a state-level background verify and coaching.
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