Colorado Gun Accessories Maker to Leave When Magazine Limits Bill Passes
by Bob Adelmann
Monday, 04 March 2013
Richard Fitzpatrick, founder of Magpul Industries, said he would move his company from Erie, Colorado, to another state if the state legislature passes a pending bill that would limit firearms magazines to 15 rounds for rifles and 8 rounds for shotguns. Under the bill, not only would customers living in Colorado be unable to purchase his products, but his company would be forced to add serial numbers to each magazine made as well.
Magpul currently employs 200 people directly (and, indirectly, another 400, who work for his company’s suppliers) and has an annual payroll of some $85 million. Fitzpatrick, a former Marine who was deployed in Desert Shield and Desert Storm and who founded his company in 1999, told the Associated Press, “We truly believe this bill will do nothing. It’s a feel-good measure. But [our employees] will be directly affected.” He noted that limiting magazine sizes will not reduce gun violence and that criminals will always find ways around such laws. For example, some of his company’s magazines have turned up in California, a state that limits magazine capacities to just 10 rounds.
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