here is a snip from the full text of the S&W contract
http://www.isra.org/smithagree.pdf
local text version is here:
http://www.thefiringline.com:8080/forums/showthread.php?threadid=25834
I. Safety and design.
A. Each firearm make and model sold by each manufacturer party to this
Agreement shall be attested by ATF or an agreed upon proofing entity
against the following standards. Existing makes and models shall meet
these standards within 60 days of execution of this Agreement unless a
longer period is specified in the standard. New makes and models shall
not be manufactured and sold after the execution of this Agreement
unless they conform to these standards.
1. Standards applicable to all handguns:
a. Second “hidden” serial number. The gun must have both a
visible serial number on the exterior of the frame or receiver, as
well as a second serial number hidden on the interior of frame or
receiver(e.g., under the grips) or visible only with the aid of an
optical instrument.
b. External locking device. As in interim measure, until the
implementation of I.A.1.c, within 60 days of execution of the
Agreement, each firearm shall be supplied with an external
locking device that effectively prevents the operation of the
firearm when locked.
c. Internal locking device. Within 24 months of execution of the
Agreement, each firearm shall have a built-in, on-board locking
system, by which the firearm can only be operated with a key or
combination or other mechanism unique to that gun.
d. Authorized user technology. The manufacturer parties to this
Agreement shall each commit two percent of annual firearms
sales revenues to the development of a technology that
recognizes only authorized users and permits a gun to be used
only by authorized persons. Within 36 months of the date of
execution of this Agreement, this technology shall be
incorporated in all new firearm designs, with the exception of
curios and collectors’ firearms. This requirement does not apply
to existing designs currently in production.
If the eight firearms manufacturers and/or importers with the
largest United States firearms sales volume agree to incorporate
authorized user technology in all firearms, the manufacturer
parties to this Agreement will incorporate authorized user
technology in all firearms.
e. Child safety. Within 12 months of execution of the Agreement,
each firearm shall be designed so that it cannot be readily
operated by a child under the age of 6. Such mechanisms
include: making the trigger pull resistance at least ten pounds in
the double action mode; or designing the firing mechanism so
that an average five year old’s hands would be too small to
operate the gun; or requiring multiple, sequenced actions in order
to fire the gun.
f. Minimum barrel length. Each firearm make and model must
have a barrel length of at least 3:, unless it has an average group
diameter test result of 1.7” or less at seven yards, 3.9” or less at
14 yards, and 6.3” or less at 21 yards. The average group
diameter test result is the arithmetic mean of the results of three
separate trials, each performed on a different sample firearm of
the make and model at issue. For each trial, the firearm shall fire
five rounds at a target from the specified distance and the largest
spread in inches between the center of any of the holes made in a
test target shall be the result of the trial.
g. Performance test: A sample of each firearm make and model
will be test-fired with “proof cartridges” (cartridges loaded to
generate excess pressure as set forth in accepted specifications
for proof cartridges) to ensure the integrity of the material. At
least on cartridge shall be fired from each chamber. Following
this test firing, the firearm will be examined for hairline cracks or
other signs of material failure and will pass this test only if there
are no hairline cracks or other signs of material failure. Each
firearm make and model shall also pass the following
performance test: the gun shall fire 600 rounds, stopping only
every 100 rounds to tighten any loose screws and to clean the
gun (if required by the cleaning schedule recommended in the
manual), or as needed to refill the empty magazine or cylinder to
capacity before continuing. For any gun that loads other than
with a detachable magazine, the tester shall pause every 50
rounds for ten minutes. The tester shall use the ammunition
recommended in the user’s manual, or if none is recommended,
any standard ammunition of the correct caliber in new condition.
A gun shall pass this test if it fires the first 20 rounds without a
malfunction and the full 600 rounds with no more than 6
malfunctions and without any crack or breakage of an operating
part of the gun that increases the danger of injury. Malfunctions
caused by failure to clean and lubricate, or by defective
ammunition, shall not be counted.
h. Drop test. Pass the more rigorous of: (a) the SAAMI Standard
drop test in effect on the date the firearm is sold; or (b) the following
test: The gun shall be test-loaded, set such that it is ready to fire and
dropped onto a steel plate or equivalent material of similar hardness
from a height of one meter from each of the following positions: (1)
normal firing position; (2) upside down; (3) on the grip; (4) on the
muzzle; (5) on either side; and (6) on the exposed hammer or striker
(or, if no exposed hammer or striker, on the rearmost part of the
gun). If the gun is so designed so that its hammer or striker may be
set in other positions, it shall be tested with the hammer or striker in
each such position (but otherwise ready to fire).
2. Additional Standards for pistols:
a. Safety Device. The pistol must have a positive manually
operated safety device as determined by standards related to
imported guns promulgated by ATF.
b. Minimum length and height standards. The pistol’s combined
length and height must not be less than 10” with the height being
at least 4” and the length at least 6”, unless it has an average
group diameter test result of 1.7” or less at seven yards, 3.9” or
less at 14 yards, and 6.3” or less at 21 yards. The average group
diameter test result is the arithmetic mean of the results of three
separate trials, each performed on a different sample firearm of
the make and model at issue. For each trial, the firearm shall fire
five rounds at a target from the specified distance and the largest
spread in inches between the center of any of the holes made in a
test target shall be the result of the trial.
c. Magazine disconnector. Within 12 months of the execution of
the Agreement, each pistol shall have a magazine disconnector
available for those customers who desire the feature.
d. Chamber load indicator. Within 12 months of the execution of
the Agreement, each pistol shall have a chamber load indicator
painted in a prominent, contrasting color or a feature that allows
the operator physically to see the round in the chamber.
e. Large capacity magazines. No pistol make or model designed
after January 1, 2000 shall be able to accept magazines
manufactured prior to September 14, 1994, with a greater than 10
round capacity, and such models shall not be capable fo being
easily modified to accept such magazines. Nor shall ammunition
magazines that are able to accept more than 10 rounds be sold by
the manufacturer parties to this Agreement or their authorized
dealers and distributors. See part II.A.1.h below.
f. Additional safety features. Each pistol must have a firing pin
block or lock.
3. Additional standard for revolvers. Each revolver make and model
must pass a safety test. Each make and model must have a safety feature
which automatically (for double action revolver) or by manual operation
(for a single actin revolver) causes the hammer to retract to a point
where the firing pin does not rest upon the primer of the cartridge. The
safety device must withstand the impact of a weight equal to the weight
of the revolver dropping from a distance of 1 meter in a line parallel to
the barrel upon the rear of the hammer spur, a total of 5 times.
B. Law enforcement and military exception. An exception to a
requirement of paragraph A may be granted for firearms manufactured
or imported for sale to a law enforcement agency or the military if the
law enforcement agency or military organization certifies to the
manufacturer party to this Agreement that the exception is necessary for
official purposes. Where a law enforcement agency authorizes or
requires its officer to purchase firearms individually for official use, an
appropriate certification from the agency will be permitted to apply to
sales to a number of individual officers. The manufacturer party to this
Agreement shall maintain the certification in its records and provide a
copy to the Oversight Commission. Firearms sold to law enforcement or
the military pursuant to this exception which do not comply with the
design standards of this Agreement, will be accompanied by a statement:
1. “On [date], [manufacturer parties to this Agreement] and
[governmental parties to this Agreement] entered into an
Agreement establishing certain design standards for firearms sold
to civilians. Pursuant to that Agreement, we are obligated to
request that you not resell this firearm to civilians. This statement
is not intended to suggest that there are any design flaws with this
firearm, and you remain entitled to dispose of it in any lawful
manner.”
I'm game, I would surely invest and then tell Klinton and the good ole boys to shove it