Joe Brower
New member
The following is a letter authored by a stalwart California TRT member, which was sent today to the local San Diego, CA media in response to the recent actions of CA Attorney General Bill "All gun owners belong in jail" Lockyer. Feel free to copy and send to your own local California newpapers, radio and TV stations:
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Dear Editor:
Once again California Attorney General Lockyer shoots from the hip in his latest accusation claiming that a legitimate firearms manufacturer "rigged" the test, the passing of which is required by the state for any non-exempt (curios and relics are exempt) handgun sold to individuals in the state, by specifying the ammo the handgun was to be tested with. Perhaps Lockyer should read his own regulations which say that the manufacturer/importer shall submit (among a host of other things), "A statement regarding the <I>ammunition the manufacturer/importer markets and/or recommends that the handgun being tested is designed to handle" and, "The manufacturer/importer shall be allowed , but not required, to provide the standard ammunition to be used during the firing test ..."</I>
Anyone with a modicum of firearm expertise knows that firearms, especially the self-loading variety, will not necessarily function reliably with all brands of ammo. There can be significant differences in the specifications and bullet styles of ammunition of the same caliber. For instance, the specifications for the .32 ACP cartridge differ slightly between Europe and the US. Some European-manufactured, self-loading handguns will jam with US ammunition due to this difference. Some self-loading handguns which will function without fail for thousands of rounds of full jacket ammunition will jam on the first attempt to run soft nose or hollow point ammunition through them.
Implicit in Lockyer's pronouncement is the notion that a handgun must function perfectly with all brands and all styles of ammunition, the manufacture of which handgun manufacturers have no control over whatsoever. This is equivalent to requiring an automobile to run gasoline, diesel, alcohol and kerosene.
"Sherlock" Lockyer appears convinced that he's "discovered" a "vast conspiracy" by the manufacturer because DOJ found samples which failed the grueling 600 round endurance test (using what ammo one might ask). Again, this is no mystery, much less a conspiracy among those familiar with firearms, statistical sampling or manufacturing processing. Just as automobiles of the same model can vary vastly in performance and reliability so do firearms of the same model vary considerably in accuracy and reliability. Anyone familiar with statistical process control can tell you that using the reliability of a three handgun sample to predict the reliability of the of thousands that will be sold is a flawed statistical standard and certainly no guarantee that each and every handgun coming off the production line will be equally reliable as the sample lot originally submitted.
Lockyer also appears to be confused about the difference between the reliability of a firearm and the safety of it. It is not a safety issue if handguns failed to pass the endurance test because the handgun experienced a few easily cleared jams, but one may want to choose a different handgun for self-defense.
If Lockyer is really so concerned about the safety of handguns available in California, then why isn't he lobbying the legislature to close a massive loophole in the law, a loophole which permits police to carry handguns <I>which haven't been tested by California certified laboratories at all</I>, instead of picking on a legitimate manufacturer of handguns?
Perhaps, the real issue which attracted Lockyer's ire is the fact that several of the spunky manufacturers which make up the so-called "ring-of-fire" have submitted handguns which have passed the state's stringent tests. This humiliated Lockyer's allies in the victim disarmament lobby and their accomplices in the legislature who speciously claimed that these guns were unsafe and unreliable so that such a testing program was required to "protect" the public.
Considering the substantial fees manufacturers/importers have to pay the testing labs for testing each and every handgun model, no matter how small the variation, as well as the state mandated fee just to be listed on the certified firearm list, renewable every year, it would appear the real goal of the required testing in California is to limit the handguns which retail gun dealers can sell so as to put them out of business, thus limiting the ability of law abiding citizens to acquire handguns in this state. Naturally, criminals face no such restriction; they have a ready supply of anything they want from the black market.
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Dear Editor:
Once again California Attorney General Lockyer shoots from the hip in his latest accusation claiming that a legitimate firearms manufacturer "rigged" the test, the passing of which is required by the state for any non-exempt (curios and relics are exempt) handgun sold to individuals in the state, by specifying the ammo the handgun was to be tested with. Perhaps Lockyer should read his own regulations which say that the manufacturer/importer shall submit (among a host of other things), "A statement regarding the <I>ammunition the manufacturer/importer markets and/or recommends that the handgun being tested is designed to handle" and, "The manufacturer/importer shall be allowed , but not required, to provide the standard ammunition to be used during the firing test ..."</I>
Anyone with a modicum of firearm expertise knows that firearms, especially the self-loading variety, will not necessarily function reliably with all brands of ammo. There can be significant differences in the specifications and bullet styles of ammunition of the same caliber. For instance, the specifications for the .32 ACP cartridge differ slightly between Europe and the US. Some European-manufactured, self-loading handguns will jam with US ammunition due to this difference. Some self-loading handguns which will function without fail for thousands of rounds of full jacket ammunition will jam on the first attempt to run soft nose or hollow point ammunition through them.
Implicit in Lockyer's pronouncement is the notion that a handgun must function perfectly with all brands and all styles of ammunition, the manufacture of which handgun manufacturers have no control over whatsoever. This is equivalent to requiring an automobile to run gasoline, diesel, alcohol and kerosene.
"Sherlock" Lockyer appears convinced that he's "discovered" a "vast conspiracy" by the manufacturer because DOJ found samples which failed the grueling 600 round endurance test (using what ammo one might ask). Again, this is no mystery, much less a conspiracy among those familiar with firearms, statistical sampling or manufacturing processing. Just as automobiles of the same model can vary vastly in performance and reliability so do firearms of the same model vary considerably in accuracy and reliability. Anyone familiar with statistical process control can tell you that using the reliability of a three handgun sample to predict the reliability of the of thousands that will be sold is a flawed statistical standard and certainly no guarantee that each and every handgun coming off the production line will be equally reliable as the sample lot originally submitted.
Lockyer also appears to be confused about the difference between the reliability of a firearm and the safety of it. It is not a safety issue if handguns failed to pass the endurance test because the handgun experienced a few easily cleared jams, but one may want to choose a different handgun for self-defense.
If Lockyer is really so concerned about the safety of handguns available in California, then why isn't he lobbying the legislature to close a massive loophole in the law, a loophole which permits police to carry handguns <I>which haven't been tested by California certified laboratories at all</I>, instead of picking on a legitimate manufacturer of handguns?
Perhaps, the real issue which attracted Lockyer's ire is the fact that several of the spunky manufacturers which make up the so-called "ring-of-fire" have submitted handguns which have passed the state's stringent tests. This humiliated Lockyer's allies in the victim disarmament lobby and their accomplices in the legislature who speciously claimed that these guns were unsafe and unreliable so that such a testing program was required to "protect" the public.
Considering the substantial fees manufacturers/importers have to pay the testing labs for testing each and every handgun model, no matter how small the variation, as well as the state mandated fee just to be listed on the certified firearm list, renewable every year, it would appear the real goal of the required testing in California is to limit the handguns which retail gun dealers can sell so as to put them out of business, thus limiting the ability of law abiding citizens to acquire handguns in this state. Naturally, criminals face no such restriction; they have a ready supply of anything they want from the black market.