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Only Smith & Wesson handguns meet state's specs
By Trudy Tynan, Associated Press, 4/18/2000 05:43
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) Gun dealers are clearing their shelves and some gunmakers have been effectively shut out of the Massachusetts market as the nation's toughest handgun safety regulations take effect.
The only new handguns that can be sold here under the new consumer protection regulations announced earlier this month are some models made by Springfield-based Smith & Wesson.
That means even the high-end models of Glocks and SIG-Sauers used by police would not pass muster if they were being sold to the general public.
''It's killing the small dealers,'' said Vincent DelValle, manager of Strictly Defense in West Springfield. ''We are stuck with thousands of dollars in guns we can't sell.''
But dealers are vowing to fight back. They told the Boston Herald that they will announce plans today to file a lawsuit challenging the regulations.
''It's not over yet,'' said Michael Yacino, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League. He said the suit, which will challenge the state's authority to regulate handguns, could be filed as soon as this week.
The new rules ban cheap handguns and require childproof locks on any handgun sold in the state. They also require safety warnings with each handgun, tamper-resistent serial numbers and indicators on semiautomatic handguns that tell if a bullet is in the chamber.
Used handguns, police weapons and models made before September 1998 are exempt from the regulations that went into effect after manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson, lost a two-year court fight to stop them.
Attorney General Thomas Reilly realizes many gun manufacturers don't meet the regulations yet.
''It is our hope that all companies will comply,'' said Ann Donlan, a spokeswoman for Reilly. ''But there is no going back as far as we are concerned.''
The other major gunmakers say they've been sidelined by such things as how many serial numbers are now required on the weapon and the minimum force needed to pull the trigger.
''It's in the details,'' said Gary Mehalik, marketing manager for Miami-based Taurus, which has been selling pistols equipped with an internal trigger lock since 1997. ''We are able to comply in most regards.''
But Taurus, and Glock which makes the guns that Boston police carry and SIG-Sauer which arms the state police have all run afoul of a requirement that it take at least 10 pounds of force to pull the trigger.
Some of Smith & Wesson's lighter guns, including its popular Sigma line, also fail to meet the 10-pound pull test that is aimed at helping to prevent a child from firing the weapon.
In part because more women are buying guns, most guns are now sold with a trigger pull of 4 to 6 pounds, with target pistols having pulls as light as 2 pounds.
Richard Callaghan, of Callaghan's Firearms in Marlboro, is one of several gun dealers who have pulled all their new handguns off the shelves in response to the new regulations.
There may be some room for interpretation of the new regulations, but Callaghan is taking no chances.
''I am not going to jeopardize my business and life savings for a fast buck,'' he said.
Paul Jannuzzo, a spokesman for Glock, said the company may send special models to Massachusetts if distributors are interested.
Beretta stopped shipment into Massachusetts for just one reason: Its guns do not have a second hidden serial number.
Paul Jannuzzo, a spokesman for Beretta USA, based in Accokeek, Md., said Beretta had been trying to comply with requirements in the state's 1998 gun law, which are exceeded and superseded the new consumer protection regulations.
''Unfortunately, everyone is styling themselves as experts in gun design and we are on the brink of ending up with a confused mix of state, local and federal laws,'' he said.
The same week Massachusetts announced its new regulations, Maryland's governor signed legislation requiring built-in locks on all new handguns sold after January 2003.
Even within Massachusetts things are getting confusing.
Aides to Jane Perlov, the state's secretary of public safety, say Perlov is drawing up her own list of acceptable weapons based on the less-stringent provisions of the 1998 law. That could include guns that would not be acceptable under the attorney general's new regulations.
''We took it a step further,'' said Donlan of the attorney general's regulations. ''As far as we are concerned we have the law behind us and we are going about the business of enforcing the consumer regulations.''
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Times have changed, but the nature of man hasn't. That's why I always go to AA, "Alert and Armed".
By Trudy Tynan, Associated Press, 4/18/2000 05:43
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) Gun dealers are clearing their shelves and some gunmakers have been effectively shut out of the Massachusetts market as the nation's toughest handgun safety regulations take effect.
The only new handguns that can be sold here under the new consumer protection regulations announced earlier this month are some models made by Springfield-based Smith & Wesson.
That means even the high-end models of Glocks and SIG-Sauers used by police would not pass muster if they were being sold to the general public.
''It's killing the small dealers,'' said Vincent DelValle, manager of Strictly Defense in West Springfield. ''We are stuck with thousands of dollars in guns we can't sell.''
But dealers are vowing to fight back. They told the Boston Herald that they will announce plans today to file a lawsuit challenging the regulations.
''It's not over yet,'' said Michael Yacino, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League. He said the suit, which will challenge the state's authority to regulate handguns, could be filed as soon as this week.
The new rules ban cheap handguns and require childproof locks on any handgun sold in the state. They also require safety warnings with each handgun, tamper-resistent serial numbers and indicators on semiautomatic handguns that tell if a bullet is in the chamber.
Used handguns, police weapons and models made before September 1998 are exempt from the regulations that went into effect after manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson, lost a two-year court fight to stop them.
Attorney General Thomas Reilly realizes many gun manufacturers don't meet the regulations yet.
''It is our hope that all companies will comply,'' said Ann Donlan, a spokeswoman for Reilly. ''But there is no going back as far as we are concerned.''
The other major gunmakers say they've been sidelined by such things as how many serial numbers are now required on the weapon and the minimum force needed to pull the trigger.
''It's in the details,'' said Gary Mehalik, marketing manager for Miami-based Taurus, which has been selling pistols equipped with an internal trigger lock since 1997. ''We are able to comply in most regards.''
But Taurus, and Glock which makes the guns that Boston police carry and SIG-Sauer which arms the state police have all run afoul of a requirement that it take at least 10 pounds of force to pull the trigger.
Some of Smith & Wesson's lighter guns, including its popular Sigma line, also fail to meet the 10-pound pull test that is aimed at helping to prevent a child from firing the weapon.
In part because more women are buying guns, most guns are now sold with a trigger pull of 4 to 6 pounds, with target pistols having pulls as light as 2 pounds.
Richard Callaghan, of Callaghan's Firearms in Marlboro, is one of several gun dealers who have pulled all their new handguns off the shelves in response to the new regulations.
There may be some room for interpretation of the new regulations, but Callaghan is taking no chances.
''I am not going to jeopardize my business and life savings for a fast buck,'' he said.
Paul Jannuzzo, a spokesman for Glock, said the company may send special models to Massachusetts if distributors are interested.
Beretta stopped shipment into Massachusetts for just one reason: Its guns do not have a second hidden serial number.
Paul Jannuzzo, a spokesman for Beretta USA, based in Accokeek, Md., said Beretta had been trying to comply with requirements in the state's 1998 gun law, which are exceeded and superseded the new consumer protection regulations.
''Unfortunately, everyone is styling themselves as experts in gun design and we are on the brink of ending up with a confused mix of state, local and federal laws,'' he said.
The same week Massachusetts announced its new regulations, Maryland's governor signed legislation requiring built-in locks on all new handguns sold after January 2003.
Even within Massachusetts things are getting confusing.
Aides to Jane Perlov, the state's secretary of public safety, say Perlov is drawing up her own list of acceptable weapons based on the less-stringent provisions of the 1998 law. That could include guns that would not be acceptable under the attorney general's new regulations.
''We took it a step further,'' said Donlan of the attorney general's regulations. ''As far as we are concerned we have the law behind us and we are going about the business of enforcing the consumer regulations.''
------------------
Times have changed, but the nature of man hasn't. That's why I always go to AA, "Alert and Armed".