Dealers/Distributors Sued by Feds under ANTITRUST laws!!

masshooter

Moderator
This topic deserves more attention. please write your congressman and senators (no caps on purpose) ASAP. THis abuse of power has to stop. Reposted from legal forum:

Now, the Feds have decided that if the dealers, wholesalers, and I suppose customers, no longer buy sh*t&wesson products, that violates the governments anti-trust laws. All I can say to that is WTF? Now we all MUST buy sh*t&wesson products by government mandate? A bunch of attorney generals who are, remember, non-elected government bureaucrats, have decided that a "boycott" (to you and I it's called "freedom of choice") now constitutes a violation of the ANTI-TRUST laws. Here is the AP news article and link: http://fullcoverage.yahoo.com/fc/US/Gun_Control_Debate/

Thursday March 30 6:14 AM ET
Report: Gun Industry Investigated

NEW YORK (AP) - An antitrust investigation has begun to see if gunmakers are targeting Smith & Wesson in retaliation for its agreement to put safety locks on handguns, The New York Times reported today.

The probe is being conducted under state laws in New York, Connecticut and Maryland, said Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's attorney general. He said more states were expected to become involved and subpoenas were imminent.

Earlier this month, Smith & Wesson agreed to include safety locks with all handguns and pistols - external locks will be on the weapons in 60 days and internal locks installed within two years. New firearms would not be allowed to accept magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Speak your mind
Discuss this story with other people.
[Start a Conversation]
(Requires Yahoo! Messenger)

The company also agreed to devote 2 percent of firearms revenues every year to developing ``smart'' technology that limits a gun's use to its rightful owner. The gunmaker, in addition, will not advertise or market its products in a way that appeals to juveniles or criminals, such as ads claiming guns are fingerprint-proof.

In exchange, a number of municipalities, states and the federal government agreed to drop threatened lawsuits over gun violence.

However, officials told the Times that other gun manufacturers and dealers opposed to the settlement have since put financial pressure on Smith & Wesson, based in Springfield, Mass.

A top wholesaler will no longer carry company weapons, retailers will not sell Smith & Wesson products and the National Rifle Association has accused the company of surrendering to Clinton administration demands, the Times reported.

``We are seeing behavior on the part of Smith & Wesson's competitors that raises the specter of illegal antitrust activity,'' New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said. ``This is serious stuff.''

Robert Delfay, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, denied the accusation.

``I could not be more confident that these are just independent actions by businessmen,'' Delfay said.

IMHO, thie MUST stop. What these government officials are doing IS illegal, and probably could be considered a felony under Title 18, U.S. Code, Sections 241 and 242: http://www.webleyweb.com/lneil/18usc.html which states that conspiring to deprive someone of their constitutional rights is a felony. Problem is, how do you get the DAs to prosecute themselves?
 
Not to mention violation of Sherman Anti-trust act; violation of gov't contract law, business law, ad nauseum

As was asked in the other thread....have the Feds nationalized S&W? and the whole industry?

------------------
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!
 
Y'know, I heard about this early on, and I just didn't believe it. I actually thought it was being exaggerated, that maybe they were talking about other manufacturers fixing prices or something similar--but they really are saying, in their own words, that a customer boycott is illegal under anti-trust laws.
There's no way to say what I feel. Anger.
 
Don,

Don't give it another thought. In a few years you will buy what you are told to buy and be happy about standing in line. Been there, done that, you can guess what I am willing to do to avoid a repeat...

[This message has been edited by Oleg Volk (edited March 30, 2000).]
 
Let's look at this from the other side. What about the companies who make "assualt rifles" that the dealers will no longer be able to sell if they carry S&W products because of the agreement? By forcing them to carry S&W, they would no longer be able to carry them. An similar situation.

I say, let the dealers & the public decide.
 
FUD
You must be Joking!! This is the Govement that told us the Budget "surplus" wouldn't be returned to us because, We wouldn't spend it properly. Remember???

The Idea of this whole thing is based on the premise that we aren't smart enough to know what is "Good for us" or even what we want.

We aren't smart enough to act individually, we are being lead like sheep by the "VAST Rightwing Conspiracy".

Welcome, my friend to the New World Order.
frown.gif
 
Back
Top