Beretta’s future in Maryland tied to state’s gun-control debate

In short: the Democrats in control of Maryland have decreed that a new anti-gun bill shall be passed. It bans standard capacity magazines and Scary Black Rifles.  But Beretta has a factory in Maryland, and employs a lot of people (and of course provides business for subcontractors); so exemptions for Beretta have been written into the law. But Beretta knows that Maryland is just not working out, and is pondering leaving. The are beginning to get machines in place to start production on the ARX-160 semi-automatic rifle, which would be illegal for the subjects of Maryland to own under the proposed new law. While it would be legal for Beretta to manufacture those firearms and sell them out of state, a good point that I’d never considered before was raised. If, say, a citizen of Texas were to buy an ARX-160 and it developed a flaw while under warranty, the normal approach would be to send it back to the factory. But under the new legal regime, it probably wouldn’t be legal for Beretta to send it *back* to the owner. The guns they sell out of state are still Beretta property when they leave, or belong to firearms dealers with truckloads of licenses and red tape; under Maryland law, a civilian-owned ARX-160 would be simply illegal.

As I said, there’s always room in Utah for a good gun manufacturer. Heck, they could take over the ATK facility next door.