At the committee hearing in Colorado regarding the “high capacity” magazine ban being considered, Magpul showed up and basically threatened to leave Colorado if the bill passed. We’ve posted before about Magpul’s activism in keeping standard capacity magazines legal for citizens to own, and the threat seems to be causing some Democrats to re-think their position. I’m pretty sure that even before the threat was official, the mere spectre of a move was enough to up the limit in the proposed legislation from 10 to 15 rounds, but now the Denver Post is reporting that the Colorado legislature is more than slightly concerned about the prospects of a move . . .
Magpul’s threat has Democratic lawmakers scrambling to strike a balance that remains true to their goal of limiting the number of rounds a magazine can hold without frightening off businesses.
“If we’re able to stay in Colorado and manufacture a product, but law-abiding citizens of the state were unable to purchase the product, customers around the state and the nation would boycott us for remaining here,” said Doug Smith, Magpul’s chief operating officer. “Staying here would hurt our business.”
[…]
State Rep. Daniel Kagan, D-Cherry Hills Village, said he plans to offer an amendment Friday that seeks to soften the bill’s impact on magazine makers in the state.
“It needs to be clear that manufacturers will be able to still sell and transfer these high-capacity magazines to individuals in other states, the U.S. military and law enforcement,” Kagan said. “We want them (Magpul) to stay here in Colorado. It would be sad to see them leave.”
As far as Magpul goes, they are undoubtedly one of the “big dogs” in terms of magazines and other firearms accessories. And as they’ve made quite clear the revenue generated from their activities provides enough of a chunk of Colorado’s state budget that it would hurt if they moved to friendlier climates. Like Texas (hint: San Antonio is a nice place!). However, despite their efforts there is the real possibility that such a bill would pass the Colorado legislature and turn hundreds of thousands of law abiding Colorado residents into criminals overnight.
Nevertheless, good on Magpul for taking a stand. What are the odds they’ll join Olympic Arms and LaRue and stop selling to New York and California LEOs?