GUN OWNERS ALLIANCE
!!ALERT!!
Chris W. Stark - Director
P.O. Box 1924
Crosby, Texas 77532-1924
Ph. 1-281-787-4111 Fax 1-281-328-7505
http://www.GOA-Texas.org
email: Director@GOA-Texas.org
03 January 2000
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CEO of Smith & Wesson says purchase rumor IS false
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Copyright © 2000 by Gun Owners Alliance (GOA-Texas).
Republication permitted ONLY if this e-mail alert
is left intact in its original state.
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Today, I made the comments below to Ed Schultz, CEO of Smith & Wesson (S&W):
"Oh please don't let Colt buy S&W! They've already stopped
most of their own civilian handgun sales, and have promised
the same for H&K when they complete their purchase of that
company."
I made this comment in reference to the Reuters news article referenced below.
Ed Schultz, CEO of Smith & Wesson sent the following reply to my comment:
# # # # # BEGIN REPLY FROM CEO ED SCHULTZ OF S&W # # # # #
Chris, I don't think you have much to worry about. This, so far is no more
than another rumor. Makes good press though. Since Y2K didn't amount to
much, apparently this is the best the media could find on a "SLOW NEWS" day.
Ed
# # # # # END REPLY FROM CEO ED SCHULTZ OF S&W # # # # #
We can only hope, Ed, that your words will remain true. And "if" they
are, we will stand with you and S&W. Our support to S&W is conditional
based on your company's loyalty to us. Will you stand with us?
There are many of us that are counting on S&W to stand with the common
American gunowners. If S&W sells out to Colt's owner, or someone who is
equally as bad, we lose another gun manufacturer.
GOA-Texas subscribers, please contact Ed Schultz, CEO of S&W, and pledge
your support to stand with S&W, as long as they stand with us. S&W also
has a legal defense fund you can contribute to if you are so inclined.
Their mounting legal bills are enormous, due to the frivolous class-action
lawsuits against them.
mailto:eshultz@smith-wesson.com
http://www.smith-wesson.com/
Below is the article Ed Schultz, CEO of S&W commented on:
# # # #
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/003/business/Tomkins_reportedly_to_sell_Smith_Wesson+.shtml
Tomkins reportedly to sell Smith & Wesson
Sale to undisclosed buyer could raise up to $161.6m
By Reuters, 1/3/2000
LONDON - British-based "guns-to-buns" conglomerate Tomkins PLC has
decided to sell US handgun maker Smith & Wesson, the Financial Mail
on Sunday newspaper reported.
Springfield, Mass.-based Smith & Wesson, one of the oldest and most
well-known small arms makers in the world, is the "guns" part of a
conglomerate that includes a car parts manufacturer and a bread maker.
The newspaper, citing sources close to the company, said the sale to
an undisclosed buyer could raise as much as 100 million pounds ($161.6
million).
A Tomkins spokesman said the company had no comment.
Tomkins's reported plans to sell Smith & Wesson follow news late last
year of a possible sale by BAE Systems PLC of German small arms maker
Heckler & Koch to US gun maker Colt for about $100 million.
Tomkins's share price has fallen 29 percent in the last year and
underperformed the FTSE by 42 percent, prompting Tomkins to announce
in July it would spin off early this year its European food operations,
which include Hovis breads, Bisto gravy, Mr. Kipling cakes, and
Robertson's jam.
Tomkins said then it wanted to focus on its industrial and automotive
operations.
But the Financial Mail said the prospect of class-action lawsuits against
gun makers in the United States could block any sale of Smith & Wesson.
"Tomkins will [sell Smith & Wesson] if it can, but until the lawsuits
are settled it may be difficult to sell," the source close to Tomkins
was quoted as saying.
The Clinton administration said in early December it would file a class
action lawsuit against the gun industry in 2000 unless manufacturers
agreed to make major changes in the way they market and distribute guns.
Administration officials said the US Department of Housing and Urban
Development is readying a lawsuit on behalf of 3,200 public housing
authorities around the country to recover the costs associated with
gun violence, estimated at around $1 billion a year.
Twenty-eight cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco,
already have sued makers of handguns to get reimbursement for municipal
spending related to gun violence - on police and emergency medical
services, for example.
The 144-year-old Smith & Wesson company is seen as one of those most at
risk of having to pay damages from the lawsuits because it makes large
numbers of handguns, some of which find their way into the hands of
criminals who kill close to 100 people in the United States every year.
This story ran on page A07 of the Boston Globe on 1/3/2000.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed
a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research
and educational purposes only.
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