"It’s one of the city’s largest employers. Others saw Smith & Wesson’s presence as another detail central to Springfield’s identity, the place where basketball was invented, Dr. Seuss was born and guns are made. But this once-easy relationship between city and gunmaker has been rattled by the discovery that the firearm used to kill 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school last month was made here. The gun was a Smith & Wesson M&P15, a version of the controversial AR-15 military-style rifle. And that weapon had been used in mass shootings before, including in Aurora, Colo., and San Bernardino, Calif. In the weeks since the Parkland shooting, as companies like Delta Air Lines severed promotional ties with the National Rifle Association and Dick’s Sporting Goods stopped selling AR-15s, Smith & Wesson has found itself increasingly drawn into the public debate over gun violence. Now, for perhaps the first time in its long history, the gunmaker is also being attacked at home. Last week, protesters gathered outside the factory gates. Local students launched a letter-writing campaign directed at the company. They also plan to target the gunmaker this weekend during the city’s “March for Our Lives” rally."