(PatriotWise.com) — Longtime American gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson held the grand opening of its new headquarters in Tennessee after moving from Springfield, Massachusetts, where the company was founded 171 years ago, the Associated Press reported.
Smith & Wesson announced in 2021 that it would be pulling stakes and leaving Springfield for a more Second Amendment-friendly state after Massachusetts lawmakers proposed legislation that would prevent gun manufacturers from making certain classes of weapons.
As part of its $125 million relocation plan, Smith & Wesson built a new 650,000-square-foot headquarters in Maryville, Tennessee. Attendees at last Saturday’s grand opening were offered tours of the new facility.
CEO and President Mark Smith spoke at the grand opening to the large crowd that turned out to see the new headquarters, CBS News reported.
Smith said it was Tennessee’s “unwavering support for the Second Amendment” and its support of Smith & Wesson and the gun industry in general that was the “deal-maker” in the company’s choice of the state.
Saying there is “something special here in Tennessee,” Smith predicted that Smith & Wesson’s next 170 years “are looking pretty good.”
The CEO also credited Tennessee’s welcoming business environment and the close collaboration the company had with the state government as a critical part of Smith & Wesson’s plan to relocate to Maryville.
Smith & Wesson’s new headquarters will create hundreds of jobs in the state.
Tennessee’s Republican-led government enacted a constitutional carry or “permitless carry” law in 2021, allowing most state residents over 21 to carry pistols without a permit after clearing a background check and training.
More than half of US states are now constitutional carry states.
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