Remington is leaving New York, and CEO Ken D’Arcy noted that the direction legislation took in the Empire State was a cause for concern.
The Associated Press (AP) noted that D’Arcy used a news release to indicate that New York’s “legislative environment” is concerning to the firearm industry as a whole.
The pending closure of Remington’s Ilion, New York, plant — launched in 1828 — marks the end of generations of New Yorkers working for the American gun maker.
Jim Conover began working at the Ilion plant in 1964 and continued to work for Remington for four decades. He commented on the pending closure, saying, “When Remington leaves, it’s not going to be like a facility leaving, it’s going to be like part of your family has moved off.”
On December 1, 2023, Breitbart News reported that Remington was closing the Ilion plant and the anticipated date of closure is early March 2024.
A view of the Remington Arms compound in the middle of Ilion, NY, Feb. 1, 2024. The nation’s oldest gun-maker is consolidating operations in Georgia and recently announced plans to shutter the Ilion factory in early March. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
News Channel 2 noted that New York State Sen. Joseph Griffo (R), Assemblyman Brian Miller (R), and Assemblyman Robert Smullen (R) released a joint statement in response to the announced closure. The statement said:
Remington’s reported decision to close its Ilion plant next year is concerning and unfortunate. This facility, which received investment from the state, employs many local residents. Unfortunately, like we have seen all too often in New York, burdensome regulations, crippling taxes and problematic energy and other policies continue to force businesses and companies to flee the state, taking jobs and livelihoods with them. We will continue to communicate with state and federal officials and work to help and assist the company’s employees and their families during this difficult time.
In addition to all the regulations and taxes in New York, the state has so much gun control that Mike Bloomberg-affiliated Everytown for Gun Safety ranks it the No. 2 state in the Union for gun control laws.
Those gun controls include an “assault weapons” ban, a “high-capacity” magazine ban, universal background checks, a red flag law, gun storage requirements, “ghost gun” regulations, a microstamping requirement for new handguns, a ban on being armed on colllege or on K-12 campuses for self-defense or classroom defense, and stringent open carry regulations.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at
