{"id":10445,"date":"2012-09-05T13:17:54","date_gmt":"2012-09-05T19:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/?p=10445"},"modified":"2012-09-26T09:55:42","modified_gmt":"2012-09-26T15:55:42","slug":"idaho-touts-local-culture-and-state-law-to-draw-gun-manufacturers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/09\/05\/idaho-touts-local-culture-and-state-law-to-draw-gun-manufacturers\/","title":{"rendered":"Idaho Touts Local Culture And State Law To Draw Gun Manufacturers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_10505\"  class=\"wp-caption module image center\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"At a recent trade show in Nampa, Stacey Nagy of Idaho-based Primary Weapons Systems exhibited one of the company's firearms.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/09\/9-5-Shot-Show1.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10505\" title=\"Shot Show\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/09\/9-5-Shot-Show1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"507\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/09\/9-5-Shot-Show1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2012\/09\/9-5-Shot-Show1-300x245.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Darin Oswald \/ Idaho Statesman<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">At a recent trade show in Nampa, Stacey Nagy of Idaho-based Primary Weapons Systems exhibited one of the company&#39;s firearms.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It&#8217;s a straightforward pitch: Idaho is a gun-friendly state.\u00a0 Why not encourage gun manufacturers to come in and set up shop?<\/p>\n<p>Several years ago, that logic led Idaho&#8217;s Department of Commerce to begin recruiting &#8220;recreation technology&#8221; companies.\u00a0 The term refers to makers of all sorts of outdoor equipment, but the department&#8217;s most prominent pitch was to firearms and accessories manufacturers.<\/p>\n<p>In the process, state representatives have touted not only Idaho&#8217;s tax structure and comfort with firearms &#8212; as in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bullsandbeavers.com\/2011\/02\/08\/interview-with-michael-rotchford-idaho-department-of-commerce-at-the-2011-shotshow-2\/\" target=\"_blank\">this video<\/a>, from last year &#8212; but also its <a href=\"http:\/\/commerce.idaho.gov\/assets\/content\/docs\/Idaho%20gun%20incentives.pdf\">firearms-friendly regulatory environment<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><div class=\"related-content alignleft\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/08\/29\/idaho-aims-for-job-growth-through-gun-manufacturing\/\">Idaho Aims For Job Growth Through Gun Manufacturing<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/maps\/where-are-guns-made-mapping-gun-and-ammunition-makers-in-idaho\/\">Where Are Guns Made? Mapping Gun And Ammunition Makers In\u00a0Idaho<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/08\/31\/who-are-idahos-firearms-ammunition-and-accessories-manufacturers\/\">Who Are Idaho\u2019s Firearms, Ammunition, And Accessories Manufacturers?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><a href=\"\"><\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n<p>That last part begs the question: If states want to attract gun manufacturers, can they improve their odds by altering state statutes?<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/smartgunlaws.org\/search-federal-gun-law\/\" target=\"_blank\">federal government requires<\/a> that firearms retailers be licensed, and that licensed retailers do background checks.\u00a0 It seeks to keep firearms out of the hands of convicted felons and people with a history of mental illness.\u00a0 (An important caveat: As <em>The New York Times<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/07\/03\/us\/03guns.html?_r=1\" target=\"_blank\">reported last year<\/a>, many states have passed measures allowing those who have experienced mental illness to petition to have their gun rights restored.)<\/p>\n<p>States<a href=\"http:\/\/smartgunlaws.org\/local-authority-to-regulate-firearms-policy-summary\/\" target=\"_blank\"> can enact more stringent regulations<\/a>, but Idaho has not taken that route.\u00a0 &#8220;They&#8217;ve added no restrictions above and beyond the federal-level restrictions,&#8221; Center to Prevent Gun Violence attorney Lindsay Nichols says of state lawmakers.<\/p>\n<p>However, she points out, Idaho is far from alone in that, meaning state statute is unlikely to be the primary recruitment tool.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are plenty of other states that have weak gun laws as well,&#8221; Nichols says.\u00a0 &#8220;The decision to exist in Idaho rather than any other state isn&#8217;t likely to be based on purely legal elements.&#8221;\u00a0 Culture, she says, is a more likely draw.<\/p>\n<p>Fred Newcome, a spokesman for PNW Arms, an ammunition manufacturer that recently relocated to Potlatch, says this was the case for them.\u00a0 &#8220;Idaho offered us an opportunity to relocate somewhere where we could be in a more comfortable environment,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p>What does that mean?\u00a0 For one, he says, in Potlatch the company found an enthusiastic and knowledgeable workforce.\u00a0 &#8220;When folks come here, they understand that what they\u2019re doing is of vital importance to our national interest, and they take that to heart,&#8221; Newcome says.\u00a0 &#8220;What they\u2019re doing is participating in something they believe in deeply.<\/p>\n<p>StateImpact made several calls to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nraila.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">NRA Institute for Legislative Action<\/a> in connection with this story.\u00a0 None was returned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s a straightforward pitch: Idaho is a gun-friendly state.\u00a0 Why not encourage gun manufacturers to come in and set up shop? Several years ago, that logic led Idaho&#8217;s Department of Commerce to begin recruiting &#8220;recreation technology&#8221; companies.\u00a0 The term refers to makers of all sorts of outdoor equipment, but the department&#8217;s most prominent pitch was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":10505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[68,35,189],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10445"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}