“The Arms” means one thing in Ilion, N.Y.: Remington Arms Co., the almost 200-year-old gun manufacturer that employs about 1,300 workers in a village of 8,000. Just about everyone in this Mohawk Valley town midway between Albany and Syracuse has some connection to the plant, reports Bloomberg News. That means Gov. Andrew Cuomo's tougher gun-control law passed by the legislature last week may have more impact here than anywhere in the Empire State.

New York was the first state to act on calls for tighter limits on firearms after Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults at a Newtown, Ct., elementary school Dec. 14. President Obama and Democratic governors and lawmakers in at least 10 states have since advocated tighter gun controls, challenging the firearms industry’s clout. There’s no indication that Remington plans to abandon New York. Workers said the company had not informed employees of changes. “I’m a little concerned about layoffs right now,” said Mark Ashley, an Ilion resident who lost his job at a tool-manufacturing company when it closed, went back to school and later landed a job at Remington. “The ban on assault weapons is not good for the company.”