Outdoor Channel to Withdraw from Colorado if Gun Bills Signed into Law
OutdoorHub Reporters 03.11.13
Outdoor Channel’s executive producer Michael Bane recently sent an email to state Senator Steve King (R-Grand Junction) warning him that if the gun bills under consideration by the state senate pass, the channel would say good-bye to the centennial state.
Bane wrote in the email, “This morning I met with my three producers, and we made the decision that if these anti-gun bills become law, we will be moving all of our production out of Colorado. We have already cancelled a scheduled filming session for late this month.”
Not only will Bane–host of Outdoor Channel’s Shooting Gallery–and his colleagues abstain from filming the state, they will also not recommend Colorado in their shows.
“The message we will take to our viewers and listeners is that these proposed laws are so dangerous to hunters and any other person, be she a fisherman or a skier who brings a handgun into the state for self-defense, that we cannot recommend hunting, fishing, or visiting Colorado,” Bane wrote. “We reach millions of people, and, quite frankly, we have a credibility that Colorado government officials can no longer match.”
The move is another blow to Colorado’s economy in addition to the ever-growing list of companies withdrawing from the state. Bane described the Outdoor Channel as “relatively small potatoes” but nonetheless, the relocation of productions currently scheduled for Colorado could set the state back a million dollars in 2013.
Bane compared the decisions of Colorado lawmakers to the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, whose event organizers decided to exclude modern sporting rifles and triggered an overwhelmingly negative response. The show was cancelled due to criticism from both the industry and individual sportsmen. Bane asserts that a similar grassroots “boycott” will happen to Colorado.
“Colorado is going to pay a huge price for laws that will do nothing,” Bane concluded. The email ended with the producer thanking Senator King for his support.
A formal vote on the measures by the Colorado Senate is expected today.
A copy of the email is hosted on Colorado Senate News.
