Leaving anti-gun states - bad idea? Maybe.

I'm not a company, but when I fled the anti-rights state I used to live in I figured I was voting with my wallet. They are no longer taking my tax dollars to use against me and my beliefs. The taxes I pay now mostly go for stuff I support. As a bonus, there tend to be a lot less taxes associated with my new state. Win-win.

These companies are retreating to a place where they are appreciated and fighting the battle in a new state. Having shown that they practice what they preach, will the new state think twice before trying some NY or CO style shenanigans? You betcha!

I have always believed in fighting the good fight.
I never expect to win every fight.

But the odds are now so stacked in the anti states fighting is just about a worthless effort.

The only place that fight can be won is in Federal Court.

That I can do from a friendly state.

AFS

Sometimes you find that you are sitting inside a jail cell. Fortunately though, the door to the jail cell is open and you can leave if you wish. Now, you can stay and try and make your home there and given enough time and effort you can change it from a jail cell into a place so wonderful that others will come in to live there. But you don't want to raise you kids in that jail cell. You don't want them bound by those walls if they don't have to be. The worst would be for them to grow up and get used to those prison bars and then to think that everyone should be forced to live within them; effectively shutting that door that currently sits open. After all, the door there is wide open and you and your family can leave if you like.

Very well stated

There is no fighting the liberal establishment in states like IL CT MD NY CA and others simply because the masses of sheep that live there, and the corruption of the politicians.

I did leave.
I had the finical means at the time, and did not want to start a family in Maryland. I grew up surrounded by farms, but now it’s nothing but suburban sprawl interspersed with neighborhoods that are a slight nicer than this side of Iraq. Not somewhere I wanted to raise a family, or deal with taxes, politicians and law enforcement that practices catch and release (how else are they supposed to get money from fines if everyone’s locked up already).
Unfortunately I realize that most people probably aren’t able to up and leave because of employment and family.

I left as well. Grew up in MD, escaped over the border to PA. I couldn't fathom the thought of going back.

The simple, chilling truth is that some parts of our Republic are too far gone.

In the real world, sometimes there is no redemption, Anakin Skywalker dies unrepentant, and Luke goes home sad.

I spent many years searching for what I believed to be a hidden wellspring of people bearing baseline American/libertarian values in the Dark and Fascist State of NJ.

I found a few, but not nearly enough. Most people there literally do not understand themselves to be sub citizens, and do not value the liberty they never had, don't miss, and don't understand.

When I finally accepted that, I packed up my family, my business, my goods, and I fled.

Of course, it's very easy to say leaving anti-rights states is a bad idea when you are writing from Texas.

Pistolpositive, I wish I could say your right. You list some good positions. However, the analogy that COROMO lists trumps yours, sad to say.

I have posted my position here. Just wonder what kind of response it will receive.

Op premise seems to be based on what happens to those that don't leave.
The truth is you are fighting a lost cause where they have overwhelming left support. The best option is to go where you are free and fight/vote to keep it that way.
If you don't want to leave for other reasons that is your choice, but don't expect those that can leave to stay and continue to get beat down when freedom is available to them.

When, you as a - business paying taxes leave you no longer have a say in the fight. As long as you are there doing "battle" against the tyranny of your respective state governments you represent hope.
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Still, Colt come on down to Texas.

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LOL!!!!

Stay and fight!! No. Leave and come here!!!

The Bible is also a book of wisdom about human nature.
The Israelites came out of Egypt into freedom. But as soon as the going got tough they wanted to return to the chains, because they were used to having someone else responsible for their needs, no matter the onerous price. It was their normal, and independance IS scary.

They had to be paraded around in circles in the desert for 40 years, until those who thought like slaves were dead and what remained was a people who only knew freedom, before they could become a nation again.

How about taking this even further? If some of us feel that it would be right to walk out of their current home state because of anti-2A policies, what about not patronizing those businesses who choose to continue to remain in a anti-2A state? Consider that every tax dollar that we use to patronize that business is used against us by that state's govt.

Let me answer this from a very personal perspective.

I've lived in Colorado for about 15 years. It's my home.

I have some gun-related business interests in Colorado. In addition, I am heavily involved in competition shooting in Colorado. I also have a business interest that is based in Wyoming.

From a business perspective, laws like that Colorado just passed make business operations complex or undefined, have unknown liabilities, and sort-of impede normal things we want to do in day to day operations. Thus, businesses in this position pretty much have to move immediately to continue profitable business operations. A business doesn't have a vote.

From a personal perspective, I want to stay and put in the political fight. This is my home and I don't want to give it up to the anti-gunners. That said, if we don't have significant success by early 2015 it's probably done and time to leave.

I think Zak is right. If we in Colorado can't turn things around here right away it may be too late. That is for us here in Colorado to think about. That being said I fully support any boycott any of the rest of you who would otherwise come here to vacation, hunt, ski, etc. decide to enact. For a while now I've thought the hunting regulations were easier to deal with in Wyoming or Arizona, and the snow better in Utah or Idaho.

CoRoMo said:

Sometimes you find that you are sitting inside a jail cell. Fortunately though, the door to the jail cell is open and you can leave if you wish. Now, you can stay and try and make your home there and given enough time and effort you can change it from a jail cell into a place so wonderful that others will come in to live there. But you don't want to raise you kids in that jail cell. You don't want them bound by those walls if they don't have to be. The worst would be for them to grow up and get used to those prison bars and then to think that everyone should be forced to live within them; effectively shutting that door that currently sits open. After all, the door there is wide open and you and your family can leave if you like.

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Is this original? Well written.

I respect those who want to stay and fight. Don't blame those who want to escape and seek more freedom to exercise your civil rights though. Same thing with moving from a high tax state. Texas has zero personal income tax. You can either stay and fight your states high income tax or move to where you have more economic freedom.

As far as the gun makers moving, long term, I don't see how they can't and won't move.

My home state is WI. Although blue on a political map, and in spite of Madison (the San Fransisco of the Mid-West) I feel that WI is by and large a conservative state, and still salvageable. Any thoughts?

Very astute point, hovercat!

IMO: Having studied the issue, this is my list of unsalvageable states, which are incapable of reform from within:

IL
NJ
MA
NY
CA
MD

These states are in their position either because of structural reasons (ie: the Chicago machine dominating IL) or because the majority of their citizens have been entirely demoralized and have have adopted a baseline collectivist worldview (NJ, MA, CA) or both.

The rest probably are not too far gone.

My take is that any hope these "too far gone" states have for reform will be imposed from without (much like Reconstruction), most likely in the form of reasonably strong pro 2A rulings being applied to the states, which is something that can happen, with a savvy application of lawsuits, in a 5-10 year timeframe.

I expect that when it's all over, there will be three main gains: First, onerous obstructions to obtaining guns are likely to be shot down, I expect to see an end to things like the FOID and FID. Second, I expect to see general reform on the topic of right-to-carry (aka bear) arms, probable a requirement of either "shall issue" ccw and/or Constitutional Carry". Finally, I expect to see reform on state level "AWB"s, as their rationale and justification is fundamentally inconsistent with 2A as interpreted by Miller and Heller, and you can also make a decent 14A argument against them.

CoRoMo said:

Sometimes you find that you are sitting inside a jail cell. Fortunately though, the door to the jail cell is open and you can leave if you wish. Now, you can stay and try and make your home there and given enough time and effort you can change it from a jail cell into a place so wonderful that others will come in to live there. But you don't want to raise you kids in that jail cell. You don't want them bound by those walls if they don't have to be. The worst would be for them to grow up and get used to those prison bars and then to think that everyone should be forced to live within them; effectively shutting that door that currently sits open. After all, the door there is wide open and you and your family can leave if you like.

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Very well said, and a perfect analogy. Besides, I can see a time in the not too distant future where those states will find some way to confiscate the assets of people who try to leave via some form of "relocation tax".

Get out now before it costs you half your savings.