Should we boycott Smith & Wesson? I thinks so, what do you think

My letter to Ed Schultz of S&W

Dear Sir,
I cannot begin to express my sorrow and disdain at your company having capitulated to the governments demands that can be described as nothing but extortion. You should have fought it out in court. Many of the lawsuits against Firearms manufacturers have already been thrown out of court. After you redesign your firearms to meet the government's criteria, I can't see why anyone would want to buy one.
According to the terms of the settlement all of your handguns must have internal safety locks within 24 months and "smart gun" technology with in 36 months. Both of these features have the possibility of rendering the gun useless for self-defense (that is the main purpose of your firearms isn't it?) at an inopportune moment. We in the pro 2nd Amendment community know what a farce "smart gun" technology really is.
The terms call for all guns within 12 months to not be capable of being operated by a child under 6. The only way I can see this being possible is to increase the weight of trigger pull to such a degree that a child would not be able to pull it, this would also have the effect of making the gun harder to shoot accurately and more difficult for shooters with smaller hands (i.e., women) to fire the gun.
The terms also call for all pistols to feature magazine disconnectors and that they not be capable of using pre-ban high cap mags. The ability to use high cap mags is a very desirable feature in a self defense weapon. A magazine disconnector would also make a pistol undesirable for self-defense for those of us in the habit of doing a reload with a round in the chamber in case another hostile target appears.
What is even worse are the requirements for the FFL's that sell your firearms. I don't think there is a FFL out there that can meet all of the 14 requirements. Some of these requirements are just plain subversive and undermine the basic principles of freedom on which our country was founded.
In short your company signed a deal with the Devil that I'm not sure it will live to regret. People will not want to your firearms because 1) they will not buy them in protest of your company's politics and 2) they won't want them because of all the undesirable features you will have to add. On the other hand your politically correct firearms (is there such a thing?) could always appeal to the ignorant sheeple, who have never bought a gun before, but will now because all those safety measures will be sure to prevent accidents. In that case even more accidents will result because of the false sense of security they will have in regard to the handling of their firearm. Mechanical gadgets can never replace the training/responsibility of the gun owner. Your company has done a great disservice to both the firearm industry and gun owners.
 
The mayor of Detroit was on again last night(Equal Time). He said that he plans to get his department to switch over to S&W. They might not need this if other citties start dumping a lot of money for their firearms.

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I am more than happy to turn my gun's in, Bullets first
 
Heard one of the attorneys behind the gun lawsuits last night on NPR; This ONLY settles the lawsuit threatened by HUD, the suits by the cities will still go forward. In other words, S&W signed surrender terms, but the war goes on regardless...

The fools! Do they not understand that the ultimate objective of this isn't "safe" guns, it's "no" guns?



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Sic semper tyrannis!
 
Boycott if you want but if you ever wanted a really nice revolver you damn well better get it NOW!

There won't be any left after this crap gets implemented.

I sold a 629 Classic last year because I wasn't using it much any more - wish I had that one back! Looks like I'll have to start saving for a 629 and a 686. May have to get a 617 while I'm at it.

Mikey
 
Its not like gun owners are doing a lot to help themselves. S&W has to stay in business. They have to ride the current wave and survive. If more of our folks voted and supported RKBA friendly candidates S&W would not have to take the current posture. S&W is a foreign owned company, British, they know what can happen. I'll stick with S&W.
The war of words is picking up. Charleton Heston is coming to speak at Brandeis University just outside Boston. That is a bastion of liberalism in the Peoples Repuublic of Massachusetts. In Boston they kept Ollie North off the air. G Gordon can't be heard within 30 miles of the city. This is a big deal here. We have the most onerours state gun laws in the country and we are finally getting gun owners to get involved politically. When that happens all over the country then companies like S&W can stick out their chins. If you are on TFL then you are probably active. But you know a lot of gun owners are not.

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In the shadow of Bunker Hill from the People's Republic of Massachusetts
 
Lets see Washington had a hand in sending jobs out of the country.
Looks like they want us to start buying from out of the country as well.
Now that’s sound economic advice. Has anyone else wondered about this?
Those pickle heads must own stock in the foreign business sector, if they don’t own it outright. Why else would they pull this kind of crap.
 
Damn! I had my heart set on a model 625 too!

After I get my R93 and my CCU, that is. Oh, yeah that'll be next week (ho, ho).
 
Absolutely yes, IMO. They readily admit making their decision on a purely economic basis. Let's show them that they sorely miscalculated the economic downside of the equation and boycott them. Do they seriously think this will stop or even slow down the lawsuits, or that the settlement will be binding on all plaintiffs? This will only serve to increase the extortion on them and everyone else. Let's try to squash them like a bug to send a clear message to others in the industry. Now, who's going to stand up and make the best revolvers around? Taurus? S&W can kiss my skinny white (but attractive in its own way) butt.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by NationalCCW:
Should we boycott Smith & Wesson? I think so, what is your opinion? [/quote]

No doubt! If Smith and Wesson capitulated for economic reasons, we can show them economic power.

I am asking you to contact your gun shops to join the boycott...send any S&W product on hand back to the factory.

Contact your state representatives and insist they do no business with Smith and Wesson.
 
If the tobacco companies, with their enormous diversification and profoundly deep pockets, couldn't ward off a barrage of threatened and actual lawsuits, what chance would a comparatively weak company like S&W have? None, zero, zilch. S&W got out from under about as well as they could have for all concerned. As for boycotts, well, the list is now Ruger, Colt, UPS, and Smith & Wesson. When the other gun companies follow, which they will, they'll have to go on the boycott list, too, of course. These boycotts will have no significant economic impact, so what these companies will discover is that they don't really need to pay any attention to people who threaten boycotts. S&W has been a major contributor and supporter of the shooting sports at all levels, including sponsoring the one show dedicated purely to guns and shooting that's available on TV. I have great sympathy for their plight, and I hope they survive and prosper; we are not better off without them. Byron
 
Boycotting S&W may drive them under.But it may prevent other gun makers following their lead.If other gun companies see how this type of agreement affects their gun sales.And they go under,who would want to sign any more of these types of agreements?I cannot understand how s&w plans on staying in business.How many gun shops are going to stop selling the high cap pistol,rifles and mags.Just to sell the s&w pistol line?I say boycott them.....
 
After reading the agreement they made with Clinton, I can never again trust that they are making a firearm that is first and foremost in the user's best interest in safty, accuracy or utility. I don't think I would ever want to actually fire one of their new arms. Bycotting is no personal trouble whem you don't trust or respect a manufacturer in any case.
 
You know guys S&W is for sale, They aren't really pushing it though. Now if we all come up with about 650mil we could own it and tell Klinton and all his Nazi/commie goons to all go pound sand. :) Free guns to stock holders :D

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We preserve our freedoms by using four boxes: soap,ballot,jury, and cartridge.
Anonymous
 
The worse thing is the position it puts the other gun companies in.
In fact, they were all caught off guard and didn't know anything was up until the announcement.
Smaller companies like Sig and Glock, etc, will be forced in the corner, like one of Bill Clinton's women victims!
 
My letter to the capitulator:

Congratulations on your agreement, especially the part about Smart Guns.

Smart gun technology is a Trojan horse -- wherein the defects which are not currently inherent to guns, and never have been found to exist in court, will be designed in -- and the manufacturers who offer them will be sued into oblivion.

You will weave the rope upon which you and all other manufactures shall hang with the anti-firearms movement, whom you have befriended, gleefully hoisting you on high.

We went to war with the Brits over gun control once and we can do it again, except this time we shall do so using the almighty buck you hold dearer than the Constitution of a foreign land -- the United States.

Go home to Britain where you belong and leave us to patronize the manufacturers who believe in the Constitution.

Very Sincerely,

Jim Peel
Attleboro, MA



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Gun Control: The proposition that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own panty hose, is more acceptable than allowing that same woman to defend herself with a firearm.
 
Byron,

Why is Ruger on the boycott list? I thought Bill Ruger said "Enough!". http://www.thefiringline.com:8080/forums/showthread.php?threadid=24868

On top of that, Ruger’s supposed gun show policy was clarified at: http://www.thefiringline.com:8080/forums/showthread.php?threadid=25007


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Gun Control: The proposition that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own panty hose, is more acceptable than allowing that same woman to defend herself with a firearm.


[This message has been edited by jimpeel (edited March 18, 2000).]
 
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