When Tennessee passed a measure that was meant to protect local firearm companies from frivilous lawsuits such as those created thanks to opposing measures in anti-gun states, gun control advocates howled. They thought Tennessee was making the wrong move.
But one town is about to reap the economic benefits from that measure.
I mean, when you want to open a plant to make guns, why go somewhere that will make it easy for you to be sued out of existence for things you didn't even do, when there are states that will shield you from it?
A United States gun importer and manufacturer can now call East Tennessee home after a ribbon-cutting on Wednesday.
Israel Weapon Industries U.S. (IWI US) invested $15.7 million to move its headquarters from Pennsylvania to Andersonville. Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank praised the move, saying the company will bring really good-paying jobs to the community. Casey Flack, CEO of IWI US, added that they only brought four employees from Pennsylvania to the new headquarters, with the rest being hired locally.
“There were three main reasons [for choosing East Tennessee], number one for us is risk mitigation through legislation, whether it came from individual states or through the federal government. We felt like this was the best location for us to mitigate that risk. Number two is a business environment where it is easier and more profitable for us to operate the company. And the third is the availability of the workforce,” said Casey Flack, CEO of IWI.
“This is a community and a state that really supports defense, security, it’s a community that understands personal protection and governmental protection and law enforcement protection, so it’s just a natural and wonderful fit for the people who call our state home,” said Frank.
In other words, people in Tennessee don't hate guns, don't hate the firearm industry, and will let them do business so long as they do so in accordance with all federal laws.
One might think this is something you should get anywhere, but it's not. A number of anti-gun states have created laws that allow people to sue the firearm industry over "public nuisance" thinking, arguing that the companies are responsible for criminal activity because someone else handed a gun to someone who wasn't supposed to have it, or because the marketing was just a little too militant-looking for a progressive soccer mom's comfort.
Yes, it's stupid, and the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act is supposed to thwart this nonsense, but the states are trying to make an end-around federal law with these measures by exploiting what exceptions exist and trying to cram a bunch of things into those exceptions that don't belong.
Gun companies can be held responsible for their own criminality, but also negligence, and so they're trying to claim all of this is negligence on their part.
And in Tennessee, that's not going to fly.
So now, a Tennessee town is going to see a lot of good-paying jobs that are perfect for those who didn't go to college to be doctors, will create a positive economic impact for Andersonville and the rest of the state, and the anti-gunners get to sit there and pout because they don't get to punish the company for existing.