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Stag Arms Moves to Wyoming

What do Kanye West and Stag Arms have in common?

They’re ditching high-taxes and arcane regulations for low-tax, manufacturing-friendly Wyoming. 

And they’re not alone.

West, the controversial Hip-hop star attempting a Gospel comeback of sorts, is moving his Yeezy label headquarters from Calabasas, Calif., to $30 million of sprawling ranch land near Cody, Wyo. Last summer, West was building a colony of prototype Star Wars-esque dome-shaped homes on his property, but Los Angeles County officials soon demolished the structures. 

Stag Arms, after about 15 years of producing AR-10s and AR-15s in New Britain, Conn., is slated to start up a new facility in Cheyanne, Wyo., according to an announcement.

These decisions to move come after Weatherby left California, and Magpul said good-bye to Colorado for new operations in Wyoming and Texas. Olin-Winchester, still headquartered in Illinois, has been gradually moving physical operations to Mississippi. LMT moved from Illinois to Iowa after 40 years in the Land of Lincoln. The list goes on.

Stag’s move is not a mere drop from this firehose. The latest data from federal regulators indicates the company manufactured nearly 11,000 rifles in 2017, putting them just behind Colt (which recently stopped production of its AR-15 model for civilians). Stag, produces more rifles than Mossberg, located in North Haven, Conn.

ANALYSIS:

Kanye’s move lateral move caught the attention of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), which may shed some light on what’s going on with gun manufacturers:

“No doubt some of the usual reasons were at play—the state’s high poverty, high taxes, and housing issues—but the biggest reason for the split is that California and Kanye are just too different,” wrote FEE’s Jon Miltimore. “They’re like that couple you know — the free spirit and the control freak — who you sense just isn’t going to make it, not long term. They might not openly quarrel, but you see all kinds of problems beneath the surface. They just don’t fit.”

West has plans to expand physical operations in light of increased manufacturing activities in the U.S. during the Donald Trump administration. West’s two-year goal, he stated at a recent industry gathering, is to bring manufacturing from overseas to North and South America. There was no way West was going to take a risk on California — reportedly, his otherworldly domes were 10 feet too high on his 300-acre property.

That’s not to say it will be all roses for either of the manufacturers. West has come under fire from local regulators in Cody for his plans to build a 70,000 sq. ft. “meditation amphitheater” near the town of 9,000. He reportedly did not seek a permit.

As gun sales continue to increase in the U.S., Stag and other manufacturers naturally have near-future plans to build on, increase output, and hire more. But as states such as California and Connecticut continue to micromanage the affairs of private enterprise, manufacturers are pulling up stakes and leaving. 

Connecticut, especially, has become aggressively anti-gun, with a state Supreme Court decision allowing marketing lawsuits against gun manufacturers. The U.S. Supreme Court declined last week to hear an appeal. No word on whether that was the final straw.

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