Governor Hickenlooper's High-Capacity Dilemma

For President Obama, the Keystone Pipeline project forces him to chose between two constituencies, labor unions and environmentalists. (Prediction: he will approve it and try to find some other bone to toss to the environmental groups.)



For Colorado Gov. John Hicklenlooper, an ultimatum issued by Magpul Industries puts him in a similar dilemma.



The Christian Science Monitor sums it up:

While Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, for example, has said it's time for new limits on some guns and ammunition, threats by a major Colorado arms manufacturer, Magpul, to take hundreds of jobs out of state if the governor signs such laws appears to have given Mr. Hickenlooper some pause. [Actually, Magpul does not make guns as such but sights and accessories — and also iPhone cases.]



After the House passed four specific gun control bills recently, including limiting the kind of magazines that Magpul builds, Hickenlooper has not yet signaled whether he'll sign the measures into law. (The Colorado Senate has yet to vote on the package.)



“We haven’t taken a specific position on that bill yet,” Hickenlooper said this week, as reported by Colorado Public Radio, “but I from time to time have said contradictory things on it.”



While Magpul employs 200 people directly, it's slated to spend $85 million buying goods, particularly injection-molded plastics, from other Colorado firms in 2013. The company says it would spend that money elsewhere if Colorado moves ahead with its gun control package, saying their customers would object if any or all of the product was built in a gun-critical state.

So will the governor run for re-election and let his opponent say that he destroyed hundreds of jobs? (Denver Post: "Magpul's Departure Could Crack Plastics Industry.") Care to bet?



Funny thing, I knew the Magpul name, but I did not know that the company was located in Colorado. But then it is in northern Colorado (Boulder County), which increasingly seems to me like a different, unfamiliar state.