Colt’s Manufacturing doesn’t want to leave Connecticut—a state its called home for 175 years—but the company may be forced to if new gun laws are passed. The legislature is currently debating a number of proposals including an expanded assault weapon ban, ammunition restrictions, a new gun offender registry and a ban on bulk purchases of handguns, according to Fox News.

“Colt has manufactured the commercial semi-automatic version of the AR since 1963,” the company’s President and CEO Dennis Veilleux wrote in a recent column. “This product is the backbone of our business and is very important to us and our customers.”

But Gov. Dan Malloy is on board with the gun-control measures and says that regardless of whether or not there’s bipartisan agreement, he intends to ban this weapon.

“At some point, if you can’t sell your products…then you can’t run your business,” Veilleux told FoxNews.com. “You need customers to buy your products to stay in business.”

Colorado-based Magpul Industries recently announced their decision to move operations out of state after Gov. Hickenlooper signed new gun-control bills. Although Colt has no definite plans to leave the state, it’s an option that remains open if Gov. Malloy stays true to his word on banning the purchase and sale of the AR-15.

New gun-control laws in Connecticut will not only affect Colt, its roughly 700 employees and the five other gun manufacturers in the state, but will also have larger economic implications in Connecticut:

The industry employs about 7,300 in the state and contributed $119 million in tax revenue in 2011, according to the NSSF. Charter Arms calls the region “the cradle of the American firearms industry.”

In Connecticut alone, the firearms industry contributes $1.7 billion annually to the state’s economy.