Miss. speaker invites gun makers to move to state

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — One top official wants gun makers in seven states to flee critics and move to Mississippi.

House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Republican, sent letters Thursday to 14 gun manufacturers. He suggests the companies should move to Mississippi, "where their industry and jobs will be appreciated."

The companies are in Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and North Carolina.

Leaders from other states have sent letters to some or all of the companies asking them to relocate to their homes, include Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas; South Carolina U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan and officials from Idaho, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.

Gunn's targets include firearms makers in New Hampshire and North Carolina, states with little apparent movement toward tighter gun restrictions.