U.S. Seen Dropping Legal Threat Against Gun Maker

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DorGunR

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Friday March 17 11:57 AM ET

U.S. Seen Dropping Legal Threat Against Gun Maker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Clinton administration will announce on Friday that it is dropping the threat of joining a class action law suit filed by the
nation's housing authorities against Smith & Wesson, a major gun manufacturer.

Administration sources said the threat of legal action was dropped after the company agreed to institute a series of safety measures, including installing child
trigger locks and so-called smart-technology, which prevents anyone but the owner of a particular gun from firing it.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, who also oversees the Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and Housing Secretary Andrew
Cuomo were due to announce the move at noon in what the Treasury, in a brief statement, called a ``historic gun announcement''. Treasury officials declined
to comment further.

President Clinton was due to speak on the issue at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) at the Oval office.

Smith & Wesson, based in Springfield, Mass., is a unit of Britain's Tomkins PLC (TOMK.L).

Summers earlier on Friday canceled a speech in Florida at the annual Futures Industry Association conference because of the event.

Gun control has been a major issue in recent days as the White House and the National Rifle Association have exchanged salvos over the matter.

The latest series of exchanges began on Sunday when NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said he believed Clinton tolerated gun killings so as to
exploit them for political gain. The White House has angrily rejected the charge and is pursuing efforts at greater gun control.

President Clinton wants the two houses of Congress to forge compromise legislation to reconcile a Senate bill passed in 1999 with most of the gun control
measures he is seeking with a less stringent House of Representatives version.
 
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Clinton administration today announced it has reached agreement with gun manufacturer
Smith & Wesson on a plan to provide external locking devices within 60 days on handguns the company sells.

Under the unprecedented deal reached with the company by the departments of Housing and Urban Development and
Treasury and officials representing state and local governments, Smith & Wesson agreed to a "code of conduct" for sales
and distribution of handguns.

The company would sell its products "only to authorized dealers and distributors" who also agree to certain conditions.
A dealer or distributor would have its contract with the manufacturer terminated, for instance, if "a disproportionate
number" of crimes were traced to the weapons it sells.

In exchange for its commitments toward advancing gun safety, Smith & Wesson won an agreement by the federal, state
and local governments to dismiss pending suits against it or refrain from filing new suits. The administration had been
threatening to bring a national lawsuit against the industry if manufacturers failed to enter negotiations aimed at
increasing gun safety.

Today's deal affects only Smith & Wesson, one of eight major gun manufacturers.

"Our goal in reaching an accord is to continue to sell to the consumer market. It would have been easy to agree to sell to
the law enforcement and military communities only, but that has never been an option," said Ken Jorgensen, a Smith &
Wesson spokesman. "The effect of this agreement will mean a change in the way Smith & Wesson does business. It will
not sacrifice the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, something we will not do."
 
Part of this (don't call me a traitor) may make SOME sense, and defuses the enemy FOR NOW (unless of course it emboldens them and puts at risk other manufacturers). I have a real problem with the design changes proposed. How are they going to make an internal locking device on the guns that doesn't impede or jeopardize self-defense use? How are they going to child proof them without the same problem? Smart guns are not viable yet, and may not be for some time. So, this leaves dumb solutions, like built in combination locks which might be accidentally activated, locking the weapon at the worst time, or left unlocked, which totally defeats the purpose, or hard to use in the dark quickly. Magnetic rings? Are you gonna wear one on both hands, and your wife too?


from the LA Times story:

" Smith & Wesson President Ed Shultz said the deal provides for "the future viability" of the company while allowing it to "make our guns better and safer in the future."
The agreement provides for new safety and design standards, including:
--External locking devices must be included in all the company's handguns within 60 days.
--There must be internal locking device on all guns within 24 months.
--A second "hidden" serial number must be provided by the manufacturer to counter criminals who obliterate serial numbers.
--Within 12 months, handguns must be designed "so they cannot be readily operated by a child under 6,"
according to a background paper distributed by administration officials at the news conference.
------
I appreciate Smith and Wesson's position, but to capitulate to HUD is terrible. Clinton & HUD were blackmailing them, and it is the worst kind of case of a malicious government legislating thru means other than the legislative branch, something our forebears did NOT intend. Smith may have won this battle (legislation immunity), while the gun industry and we too lose the war.

Flame on (to my first statement)


[This message has been edited by Covert Mission (edited March 17, 2000).]
 
Hey wait a minute, S & W has been putting trigger locks on new guns for some time now. they got the Govt to drop lawsuits and promise to leave S & W alone as long as S & W stops selling to that small minority of dirtbag dealers who sell to bad guys.

Looks like to me that S & W pulled one over on the govt. This is not going to cost them a dime, they get out from under the lawsuits that would have bankrupted them, and they are still in business.

Read the press releases, S & W gave up NOTHING! All we get us some useless trigger locks when we buy a new gun, so what! It is better than not hving S & W around because they were bankrupted. I think we won one here, the Government caved, not S & W!


Geoff Ross

------------------
One reason to vote in the next Presidential election.

It's the Supreme Court, Stupid!
 
To me this demonstrates that these lawsuits are merely a form of extortion. The fact that S&W will include these locks in the future does not change the fact that they have done something in the past (according to the antis) that violated someone else's rights (which is why they filed the suits).

It never ceases to amaze me.

Jack
 
Geoff - They also agreed to implement 'Smart GUn' Technology within 24 months and internal locks within 12 mos. They also agreed to stop selling to suppliers that sell at gun shows where there are sales without the background check. In other words every private sale will also have to go through NICS at that show or every dealer there will lose their S&W contract for being in that show - even if they are an FFL.

We are going through that Smart Gun stuff right now. In effect it will increase the cost of handguns by a huge margin, the technology does not exist yet (and might not exist for a good long time), the police are not required to use this technology.

------------------
Thane (NRA GOA JPFO SAF CAN)
MD C.A.N.OP
tbellomo@home.com
http://homes.acmecity.com/thematrix/digital/237/cansite/can.html
www.members.home.net/tbellomo/tbellomo/index.htm
"As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression.
In both instances there is a twilight when everything remains
seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all
must be most aware of change in the air - however slight -
lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness."
--Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
 
As soon as I saw news about something going on with S&W I ran out and bought a model 410. I figured it would be best to get one now before S&W came out with "really smart" guns.
 
Thats it! Now we will have a run on S & W's before the Smart gun technology goes into production!

In the local gun shop last week I saw an H&K USP that had a sticker that said "Gun is locked, see instruction sheet" Manufacturers already have the locking systems ready to go. They are way ahead of the Govt.

I love how this is portrayed as some great victory, when it is just BS.

Geoff Ross

------------------
One reason to vote in the next Presidential election.

It's the Supreme Court, Stupid!
 
One has to wonder if Smith & Wesson isn't betting on a gun-friendly White House and legislature after this election.

I noticed that the 'integral locks', 'child-safing', and 'smart-gun' tech will be coming along at least a year after the election. A suspicious type would wonder if Smith & Wesson was giving themselves a little time to test the gun-control wind after the Administration changes.

LawDog
 
In 1939 another Englishman came back from a business trip, bringing with him "Peace In Our Time" as he described it. As some may recall, the "peace" turned out to be rather noisy, not to mention fatal to a whole lot of people.

I wonder as to exactly whom or what S & W will "sell down the river" when the anti gunners come back for another bite, as they most surely will, and this does not even begin to consider how they will deal with Chicago and Washington, D.C., who have not "signed off on this agreement".

From whose hide will come the "pound of flesh" that the political whores therein located will surely demand, and perhaps get.
 
Only time will tell. I suspect that S&W's sales of integral locks and smart guns may possibly cause them to go bankrupt.I mean who is gonna buy that stuff?? Certainly not shooting fans who tend to be a conservitive bunch.And there will be plenty of PRE-LOCK S&W's available for a price.
 
Well there it goes! United we stand, divided we fall. This time it is firearms with locking devices. What next? This will do little to nothing to prevent accidental deaths or reduce crime. America will be no safer and in a few months the anti's will make their next push, only this time they know they can push litigation and get what they want. :( The checks and balance system is gone. The U.S. government was never suppose to have this power.


BTW I wonder if S&W is going to offer LEO only models? Do cops get the safety locks too? I bet this would just thrill the average cop when his boss orders all these "safe" guns from S&W :(


Later
Daren
 
It's the whole process of governmental extortion that has me in a rage!

:mad:

------------------
John/az

"The middle of the road between the extremes of good and evil, is evil. When freedom is at stake, your silence is not golden, it's yellow..." RKBA!
 
Darren, Don't worry, you will only have to key in 6 or 8 numbers with you weak hand and slide a bar back and forth twice. Once you practice some you will most likley be able to get a round down range in 6 to 20 seconds. The next step in the legislation will probably be that the lock will need to be reset for each shot. You will still have your right to keep and arm bears but they won't be worth a crap unless you get a crack head to get it right for you. If they can get into a modern automobile, defeat the security systems and steering column lock this will be a no brainer! I had better get off my box now and take several BP pills! :mad: :mad: :mad:
Hank
 
A sacrificial lamb, perhaps...?

------------------
...defend the 2nd., it protects us all.
No fate but what we make...
 
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