Gun manufacturers in Connecticut have come out swinging against Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for what they claim are slanderous statements that have led to a hostile work environment.
The backlash focuses on Mr. Malloy’s early April interview on CNN, in which he accused the gun industry of putting profits above all else, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“What this is about is the ability of the gun industry to sell as many guns to as many people as possible, even if they’re deranged, even if they’re mentally ill, even if they have a criminal record. They don’t care,” he said on CNN.
Gun makers were incensed,
The Los Angeles Times said the National Shooting Sports Foundation has demanded an apology. And O.F. Mossberg & Sons, the oldest family-owned gun manufacturer in America, called the comments “slanderous” to its 270 workers. The company, through its attorney, has penned a letter to the governor.
“To set the record straight, our company and our employees have gone on record at public hearings and with our elected legislators as stating that the single biggest thing this state can do to stop the criminal misuse of firearms is to prevent access to firearms by prohibited or other at-risk individuals,” said the attorney, Joseph Bartozzi, in the letter to the government, the Los Angeles Times reported. Mr. Malloy’s comments “came across as insulting and slanderous to our employees … and appear to be politically motivated.”
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The governor, the Los Angeles Times reported, isn’t apologizing, and Mossberg manufacturing is considering an exit from the state, Mr. Bartozzi said.
“At a time when we are being encouraged to move our manufacturing facility to any one of several states, your words have made us feel … deeply unappreciated,” he said in the Los Angeles Times.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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