HERKIMER COUNTY, N.Y. (WKTV) - The chairman of the Herkimer County Legislature says passing stricter gun laws in New York State would devastate the county.

"Herkimer county is Remington Country," said Vincent Bono. "Herkimer county is synonymous with Remington. It's the oldest manufacturer in the country- over 200 years old and we're proud of that."

Bono says these law changes are happening too quickly in reaction to the horrific events of Newtown, Connecticut and Webster. He agrees that things can be done for gun control- but things need to be thought through a little bit more. "This knee jerk reaction, if this vote goes through, will cost us 1200-plus jobs probably more like 1400 with all the businesses that do business with Remington. It's something we are taking very seriously," said Bono. "I mean we are talking about livelihoods here. I hope people who vote for this legislation have a plan for the people who are going to be displaced by this action."

Governor Andrew Cuomo talked about Remington Monday night in Albany. "I don't know Remington's business well enough to know how many assault weapons they've been making, what percent of their business that is and what percent assault weapons sales in new york are. My guess is New York is not going to alone. My guess is there will be some federal action one way or the other on this topic so I think the companies that are worried about future sales of assault weapons, they are going to have to worry about a lot of other things besides the State of New York."

"You know the Ilion name. People you talk to anywhere in this country and you mention Ilion and it's synonymous with Remington. We as a county, as elected officials are doing everything in our power," said Bono. "We walked with Remington constantly and you know we invested in Remington 3 or 4 years ago. We saw the importance of retaining those jobs. The $2 million investment was well worth it along with their tens of millions of dollars. We went from 600 jobs to now over 1200 jobs and it's important. It would crush this county."