FOG HORN

January 10, 2024

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to Join NSSF’s Governors’ Forum at SHOT Show 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, welcomes Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to join NSSF’s 3rd Annual Governors’ Forum at SHOT Show® 2024. Gov. Kemp joins seven other state governors to discuss the importance of the firearm industry to their states, Second Amendment rights of their citizens and their insights to challenges and opportunities ahead for gun rights in the United States.

Confirmed for the Governors’ Forum are (in alphabetical order of states):

• Arkansas – Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders
• Georgia – Governor Brian Kemp
• Idaho – Governor Brad Little
• Montana – Governor Greg Gianforte
• Nebraska – Governor Jim Pillen
• Nevada – Governor Joe Lombardo
• Oklahoma – Governor Kevin Stitt
• Wyoming – Governor Mark Gordon

“The governors invited to speak at this year’s forum are the leading voices for protecting Second Amendment rights and the firearm and ammunition industry that provides the means for Americans to lawfully exercise those rights,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President & General Counsel. “NSSF’s Governors’ Forum provides a unique opportunity for SHOT Show attendees and industry media to hear directly from those governors, especially as we head into an election year when the Biden administration has squarely taken aim at our industry in an effort to decimate it. These governors are the vanguard of American liberties and the values we hold dear. NSSF has regularly welcomed governors to SHOT Show, but this is a truly special chance to gather with these governors in one space to speak about the importance of the firearm industry and Second Amendment freedoms to their states.”

NSSF’s Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show), will take place at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas from Jan. 23-26, 2024. The Governors’ Forum, moderated by Keane, will host the annual Governors’ Forum at SHOT Show Wednesday, Jan. 24, from 1-2 p.m. at Venetian Expo, Palazzo M (5th floor). NSSF is hosting governors to discuss the importance of the industry to their state, the legislative landscape and what can and should be done to protect the industry from gun control special interests threatening the firearm and ammunition industry and Second Amendment rights.

More governors may be added to the forum as schedules permit. The Governors’ Forum is open to all SHOT Show attendees and media.

Below is a list of previous announced moves to relocate firearm business headquarters and expand production to new states:

Alabama

· Kimber expanded production to Troy, over Yonkers, New York. It later relocated its corporate headquarters to Alabama.

Arkansas

· Fiocchi USA established manufacturing operations in Little Rock in 2020 with a $15 million capital investment, creating 85 jobs, then in 2022 selected Little Rock for a new primer manufacturing facility with a $41.5 million capital investment and 120 jobs created.

· Vista Outdoor acquired the Remington Ammunition Facility in Lonoke in 2021, adding hundreds of jobs at the facility.

· SIG Sauer announced in 2023 it was expanding its ammunition manufacturing facility in Jacksonville with a $150 million capital investment and 625 jobs created.

Georgia

· Remington Firearms announced it will establish a global headquarters, research and development and expand production in La Grange. RemArms made their recent announcement that all Ilion, New York, manufacturing operations will move to La Grange as well.

· Norma Precision Ammunition announced in 2022 that the company would build a new ammunition production and distribution facility in Bryan County, north of Savannah. The announcement came just months after Norma Precision Ammunition announced it was establishing its U.S. headquarters, manufacturing site and warehousing and distribution operations in Chatham County.

· Taurus moved production to Bainbridge, Georgia, from South Florida in 2019.

· Daniel Defense opened their new headquarters and manufacturing location in Black Creek, Ga., in 2018.

Iowa

· Les Baer moved from restrictive Illinois to LeClaire, Iowa, in 2007.

· Lewis Machine & Tool Company (LMT) left Illinois after 40 years to relocate to Iowa in 2019.

Mississippi

· Olin Corporation’s Winchester Ammunition moved most production from East Alton, Illinois, to Oxford in 2011.

Montana

· Alpha Loading Systems, an ammunition loading and primer machinery manufacturer, announced in 2023 it was expanding its footprint in western Montana and tripling its workforce.

· Shield Arms announced an expansion and move into a new $5 million 36,000 square foot headquarters and manufacturing facility in Bigfork that will also bring 30 new jobs to its existing 40 employee footprint.

North Carolina

· Sturm, Ruger and Co. expanded production in Mayodan, North Carolina, in 2013.

Pennsylvania

· Kahr Arms moved their headquarters to Greely, Pennsylvania, from New York after the state rushed through passage of the SAFE Act. And pulling most of its manufacturing out of Worcester, Massachusetts.

South Carolina

· American Tactical Imports relocated 100 jobs and its manufacturing from Rochester, New York, to Summerville, South Carolina, in 2013.

· PTR Industries left Connecticut for Aynor, South Carolina in 2013, where it set up shop.

Tennessee

· Beretta moved firearm production and engineering and design to Gallatin, Tennessee, from Maryland in 2015 over concerns of increasingly strict gun control legislation.

· Smith & Wesson opened their new headquarters and manufacturing facility in Maryville, Tennessee in 2023.

Texas

· Mossberg expanded production in Eagle Pass, Texas, in 2013, instead of growing its North Haven, Connecticut, plant.

· Colt Competition moved from Canby, Oregon, to Breckenridge, Texas, in 2013.

Wyoming

· Magpul Industries left Boulder, Colorado, after the state passed magazine restrictions and moved production to Laramie, Wyoming.

· Weatherby Inc.’s Adam Weatherby announced at SHOT Show in 2018 that he was moving the company from California to Sheridan, Wyoming.

· Accessories maker HiViz announced in 2013 they were leaving Fort Collins, Colorado, over restrictive gun control legislation to Laramie, Wyoming.

· Stag Arms announced opened their facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming, after announcing in 2019 they were leaving their former headquarters in New Britain, Conn.

· Stag Arms announced opened their facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming, after announcing in 2019 they were leaving their former headquarters in New Britain, Conn.



About NSSF

NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org.

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