Gun Lock Distribution Halted
Devices Can Easily Be Opened, Police Report
Oct. 10, 2000
Frances Ann Burns
NEWTOWN, Conn. (APBnews.com) -- A gun manufacturers group has suspended a national program that distributes cable locks through local police departments following reports that the devices can easily be opened.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation said in its announcement that it is not recalling locks that have already been given to gun owners. But at least one police department launched its own recall after learning of the problem.
"We don't want the community having a false sense of security," said Capt. Joe Morbitzer of the Westerville, Ohio, police.
The foundation was alerted by two large police departments in Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tenn., where officers discovered before the Project HomeSafe distribution that some locks could be opened without a key, the foundation said.
Westerville officers tested the locks before the distribution and found no problems, Morbitzer said. After 800 of the devices had been given out, officials learned that Knoxville police had been able to open the locks and found the same defect in five that were left over.
Designed to thwart children
Robert T. Delfay, the foundation's president and chief executive officer, said the group shares police officials' concerns about a false sense of security and recommended that gun owners who have received the locks use gun safes or other means of securing their weapons.
He said that the locks were never designed to be totally secure and can be broken open with tools found in most homes.
"But it should be emphasized that use of the lock does not make a firearm unsafe, and any firearm with the lock properly installed is inoperable," Delfay said. "Cable locks are designed to discourage unauthorized access to a firearm, particularly by young children."
400,000 distributed nationwide
The foundation purchased the locks from a distributor who bought them from a Chinese manufacturer, said spokesman Bill Brassard. He said they were tested before distribution to police departments.
"When the lock is not installed, you are able to strike it with sufficient force to cause it to spring open," Brassard said. "Whether that could be done when it is installed without breaking the gun is another question. We've concentrated on pulling on the cable with a tremendous amount of force, and you can't pull it out."
The foundation has distributed 400,000 cable locks through county and local police departments and other programs. Some states, including Oklahoma and Texas, either have or are planning statewide programs.
The foundation expects to decide within a week whether to resume Project HomeSafe after testing 5,000 locks returned by the Knoxville Police Department and consulting departments involved in the distribution.
Frances Ann Burns is an APBnews.com staff writer (frances.burns@apbnews.com).
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I told you so! What a bunch of marrons!
Skyhawk
Zweiter Artikel
Da eine gutgeordnete Miliz zur Sicherheit eines freien Staates nötig ist, soll das Recht des Volkes, Waffen zu besitzen und zu führen, nicht geschmälert werden.
Devices Can Easily Be Opened, Police Report
Oct. 10, 2000
Frances Ann Burns
NEWTOWN, Conn. (APBnews.com) -- A gun manufacturers group has suspended a national program that distributes cable locks through local police departments following reports that the devices can easily be opened.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation said in its announcement that it is not recalling locks that have already been given to gun owners. But at least one police department launched its own recall after learning of the problem.
"We don't want the community having a false sense of security," said Capt. Joe Morbitzer of the Westerville, Ohio, police.
The foundation was alerted by two large police departments in Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tenn., where officers discovered before the Project HomeSafe distribution that some locks could be opened without a key, the foundation said.
Westerville officers tested the locks before the distribution and found no problems, Morbitzer said. After 800 of the devices had been given out, officials learned that Knoxville police had been able to open the locks and found the same defect in five that were left over.
Designed to thwart children
Robert T. Delfay, the foundation's president and chief executive officer, said the group shares police officials' concerns about a false sense of security and recommended that gun owners who have received the locks use gun safes or other means of securing their weapons.
He said that the locks were never designed to be totally secure and can be broken open with tools found in most homes.
"But it should be emphasized that use of the lock does not make a firearm unsafe, and any firearm with the lock properly installed is inoperable," Delfay said. "Cable locks are designed to discourage unauthorized access to a firearm, particularly by young children."
400,000 distributed nationwide
The foundation purchased the locks from a distributor who bought them from a Chinese manufacturer, said spokesman Bill Brassard. He said they were tested before distribution to police departments.
"When the lock is not installed, you are able to strike it with sufficient force to cause it to spring open," Brassard said. "Whether that could be done when it is installed without breaking the gun is another question. We've concentrated on pulling on the cable with a tremendous amount of force, and you can't pull it out."
The foundation has distributed 400,000 cable locks through county and local police departments and other programs. Some states, including Oklahoma and Texas, either have or are planning statewide programs.
The foundation expects to decide within a week whether to resume Project HomeSafe after testing 5,000 locks returned by the Knoxville Police Department and consulting departments involved in the distribution.
Frances Ann Burns is an APBnews.com staff writer (frances.burns@apbnews.com).
************************************************************
I told you so! What a bunch of marrons!
Skyhawk
Zweiter Artikel
Da eine gutgeordnete Miliz zur Sicherheit eines freien Staates nötig ist, soll das Recht des Volkes, Waffen zu besitzen und zu führen, nicht geschmälert werden.
