Jason Demond
New member
This I pulled from the Smith & Wesson web site
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An open letter to the citizens of Boston: On June 3, 1999 the City of Boston and the Boston Public Health Commission joined a number of other cities in filing a lawsuit against Smith & Wesson and other members of the firearms industry. As in several of the other cases, the complaint has been signed not just by attorneys employed by the City, but by outside lawyers from New York, Washington, D.C. and representatives of an anti-firearm organization, individuals with their own social agenda.
Although those bringing the suit say it is not about money, it asks for $100 million plus, and the law firms will get 25% of whatever is exacted from the firearms manufacturers as their only payment for handling this matter. The lawsuit charges Smith & Wesson with a number of counts, including Public Nuisance, Negligent Distribution and Marketing, Defective Design, Failure to Warn, Negligence, and Unjust Enrichment.
You the public are being told that this suit is again Not about money, but money damages are sought in each count of the suit, including money for attorneys fees and punitive damages, money far in excess of Smith & Wesson's profits in the last decade. You, the public, are not being told the truth when they say these cases are not about money. The simple truth is that the City of Bostons suit against Smith & Wesson is wrong. We think that as fellow citizens of Massachusetts you deserve to know all the facts. Here they are.
The implications of the suit are that Smith & Wesson has no concern about firearms safety, whether it be applied to the handgun itself, or to safe and responsible storage of the gun. Nothing could be further from the truth. For nearly a century and a half Smith & Wesson has been, and continues to be, a leader in firearms design, innovation, manufacturing quality, safety and training. Smith & Wesson has lawfully and responsibly manufactured firearms in the State of Massachusetts since 1856. Every Smith & Wesson firearm is sold with an owners manual that clearly warns the purchaser about the dangers and responsibilities that accompany ownership. Since 1997, before the President and Congress began debating the merits of gunlocks, Smith & Wesson was providing a Master Lock gunlock with every Smith & Wesson shipped. Even before that Smith & Wesson guns were being shipped in lockable boxes and before that with lockable trigger devices that owners could lock if they were not going to secure their gun in another manner.
Since 1955, Smith & Wesson has offered semi-automatic pistols that utilize a magazine disconnect which renders the gun incapable of firing when the magazine is removed. This feature has been incorporated into the training of many police departments and is responsible for saving the lives of officers every year. The similar pistols shipped to the non-law enforcement market also contain this feature. Other features of Smith & Wesson handguns include manual safeties, firing pin safeties and hammer blocks. Smith & Wesson handguns also require significant pressure on the trigger to cause the gun to discharge. In order for a Smith & Wesson gun to fire, the trigger must be pulled all the way to the rear and held, thus preventing the gun from accidentally firing if the trigger is bumped or the gun is dropped.
Smith & Wesson has long been a proponent and active participant in firearms training to create safe, responsible firearms owners and users. The Smith & Wesson Academy was founded 30 years ago and has trained individuals from all 50 states and 50 foreign countries. Most of the law enforcement officers in the State of Massachusetts have at some time in their career been involved with Smith & Wesson training efforts. Several years ago, we completed a $3 million expansion of our Springfield training facility in order to meet the demand for high quality training for private citizens across the country. Firearm education is in everyones best interest. Smith & Wesson, through its training facility has worked closely with the City of Springfield and its mayor in a number of areas to promote the safe use and storage of firearms, including participating with the citys Violence Prevention Task Force which last year put gun locks on hundreds of firearms at no cost to the owners. Smith & Wesson currently has a program that will provide trigger locks at a very low cost to any U.S. city that chooses to partner with Smith & Wesson in a community safety program.
Smith & Wesson can only promote and support education where such efforts are accepted. Far too many community leaders are adamant in not supporting firearm educational programs. The same educational processes that are utilized to address other social issues such as AIDS, teenage pregnancies and the misuse of drugs and alcohol need to be applied to firearms also. To do any less is to admit that one is not serious about addressing the issue. Those individuals and groups that oppose educational efforts to inform children and adults about the rights, wrongs and responsibilities of firearms usage and storage must share the blame for every firearm accident or misuse that occurs.
During the administration of the previous Massachusetts Attorney General Smith & Wesson offered to provide the program "In a Flash" free of charge to every Middle School in the Commonwealth if the office of the Attorney General office would facilitate it. "In a Flash", developed by the National Emergency Medical Association, teaches young people to recognize and avoid potentially violent situations. It is a "say no" to violence program that is in use in many other states. Despite repeated attempts to move the program forward, we were unable to get support from the Attorney Generals office.
Contrary to comments by individuals suing us, Smith & Wesson is, and has been, concerned with the misuse of our products. Our approach to addressing the issue has been more proactive and productive than the headline catching efforts of politicians you often read about. Smith & Wesson proactive firearm safety efforts address responsible firearm usage and storage for adults and educational programs for children of all ages.
Smith & Wesson works closely with all local, state and federal agencies to provide rapid and pertinent information as required in criminal investigations. We have recently received a letter of commendation from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms acknowledging Smith & Wesson's exceptional cooperation in criminal investigations.
Smith & Wesson is aggressively pursuing technology that allows only the authorized person to use a handgun. Perhaps the biggest challenge is incorporating this new technology to produce a handgun that is totally reliable. Handguns by design are an example of form follows function and simplicity delivers reliability. Reliability is the most important feature of any firearm. The added technology required for an "authorized user only" gun departs from these basic principles. Whatever safety devices are incorporated or attached to the firearm must not impede the proper, normal use of the gun. A handgun that is 99% reliable is not acceptable to working law enforcement officers, military, private citizens or Smith & Wesson.
Despite all the rhetoric about safety devices that recognize the authorized user and that can be attached to, or incorporated into guns, acceptable technology does not yet exist. Most of the individuals that consistently promote these devices do not have any experience in the design or manufacture of the products, or a vested interest in the reliability of these products in life threatening situations. As a responsible manufacturer of leading edge designed and quality manufactured handguns for over a century, we cannot turn our backs on the millions of military, law enforcement and private citizen users that would be negatively impacted by mandated technology that does not work reliably in a wide range of circumstances.
What is important in this debate is what will make a difference in efforts to reduce violent crimes and accidental shootings, not what makes headlines. Smith & Wesson has always been a responsible corporate citizen of Massachusetts and has employed thousands of people in the greater Springfield area to provide top quality, safe, dependable firearms and non-firearm products for users around the world. We have designed, manufactured and distributed our products in accordance with all laws, and in fact have developed stringent criteria for those that are authorized retailers of our products. A recent jury decision in Brooklyn, New York recognized that Smith & Wesson does in fact conduct distribution of its products in a responsible legal manner.
The Massachusetts Legislature passed a number of laws relating to firearms manufacturers in 1998. It should interest you that Smith & Wesson had been doing the things required by these laws for many years.
Smith & Wesson currently employs approximately 800 people (far less than half of our peak employment in the 1980s) and all of its profits of the 1990s are dwarfed by the Boston lawsuit alone. Smith & Wesson strives to be a solid community and corporate citizen and through financial and product contributions, and the dedication of employee volunteers, has supported a host of organizations across the country that raise funds for a variety or worthwhile causes. Just a few of these are:
Public television, Red Cross, United Way, Make-A-Wish foundation, victims of the Jahn Foundry Explosion, Springfield Scouting, 4-H, the Future Farmers of America, and Junior Achievement.
As Smith & Wesson moves into the next century we will continue our long tradition of innovation in the products we produce. We will continue to develop products that will enable the citizens of Massachusetts and the world to be more secure and safe. But we cannot do this if we are crippled by senseless lawsuits like this. We agree violence in our society is a bad thing. We agree that violence with firearms is a terrible thing. We support fully law enforcements attack on illegal gun trafficking. We assist federal, state and local law enforcement in these efforts. We will continue to do so. But it makes no sense to require a manufacturer of well designed high quality firearms - firearms sold to law enforcement agencies around the world - to defend itself in a lawsuit such as this.
In view of this, and since this lawsuit IS about money and the power certain lawyers think they should have over the public policy, we urge you to write to your representatives, federal, state and local, write to the governor, write to the Mayor of Boston - telling them to drop this senseless suit against Smith & Wesson and to continue their already successful efforts to stop gun violence and gun trafficking through vigorous law enforcement.
L. E. (Ed) Shultz
President & CEO
Smith & Wesson
******************************************
An open letter to the citizens of Boston: On June 3, 1999 the City of Boston and the Boston Public Health Commission joined a number of other cities in filing a lawsuit against Smith & Wesson and other members of the firearms industry. As in several of the other cases, the complaint has been signed not just by attorneys employed by the City, but by outside lawyers from New York, Washington, D.C. and representatives of an anti-firearm organization, individuals with their own social agenda.
Although those bringing the suit say it is not about money, it asks for $100 million plus, and the law firms will get 25% of whatever is exacted from the firearms manufacturers as their only payment for handling this matter. The lawsuit charges Smith & Wesson with a number of counts, including Public Nuisance, Negligent Distribution and Marketing, Defective Design, Failure to Warn, Negligence, and Unjust Enrichment.
You the public are being told that this suit is again Not about money, but money damages are sought in each count of the suit, including money for attorneys fees and punitive damages, money far in excess of Smith & Wesson's profits in the last decade. You, the public, are not being told the truth when they say these cases are not about money. The simple truth is that the City of Bostons suit against Smith & Wesson is wrong. We think that as fellow citizens of Massachusetts you deserve to know all the facts. Here they are.
The implications of the suit are that Smith & Wesson has no concern about firearms safety, whether it be applied to the handgun itself, or to safe and responsible storage of the gun. Nothing could be further from the truth. For nearly a century and a half Smith & Wesson has been, and continues to be, a leader in firearms design, innovation, manufacturing quality, safety and training. Smith & Wesson has lawfully and responsibly manufactured firearms in the State of Massachusetts since 1856. Every Smith & Wesson firearm is sold with an owners manual that clearly warns the purchaser about the dangers and responsibilities that accompany ownership. Since 1997, before the President and Congress began debating the merits of gunlocks, Smith & Wesson was providing a Master Lock gunlock with every Smith & Wesson shipped. Even before that Smith & Wesson guns were being shipped in lockable boxes and before that with lockable trigger devices that owners could lock if they were not going to secure their gun in another manner.
Since 1955, Smith & Wesson has offered semi-automatic pistols that utilize a magazine disconnect which renders the gun incapable of firing when the magazine is removed. This feature has been incorporated into the training of many police departments and is responsible for saving the lives of officers every year. The similar pistols shipped to the non-law enforcement market also contain this feature. Other features of Smith & Wesson handguns include manual safeties, firing pin safeties and hammer blocks. Smith & Wesson handguns also require significant pressure on the trigger to cause the gun to discharge. In order for a Smith & Wesson gun to fire, the trigger must be pulled all the way to the rear and held, thus preventing the gun from accidentally firing if the trigger is bumped or the gun is dropped.
Smith & Wesson has long been a proponent and active participant in firearms training to create safe, responsible firearms owners and users. The Smith & Wesson Academy was founded 30 years ago and has trained individuals from all 50 states and 50 foreign countries. Most of the law enforcement officers in the State of Massachusetts have at some time in their career been involved with Smith & Wesson training efforts. Several years ago, we completed a $3 million expansion of our Springfield training facility in order to meet the demand for high quality training for private citizens across the country. Firearm education is in everyones best interest. Smith & Wesson, through its training facility has worked closely with the City of Springfield and its mayor in a number of areas to promote the safe use and storage of firearms, including participating with the citys Violence Prevention Task Force which last year put gun locks on hundreds of firearms at no cost to the owners. Smith & Wesson currently has a program that will provide trigger locks at a very low cost to any U.S. city that chooses to partner with Smith & Wesson in a community safety program.
Smith & Wesson can only promote and support education where such efforts are accepted. Far too many community leaders are adamant in not supporting firearm educational programs. The same educational processes that are utilized to address other social issues such as AIDS, teenage pregnancies and the misuse of drugs and alcohol need to be applied to firearms also. To do any less is to admit that one is not serious about addressing the issue. Those individuals and groups that oppose educational efforts to inform children and adults about the rights, wrongs and responsibilities of firearms usage and storage must share the blame for every firearm accident or misuse that occurs.
During the administration of the previous Massachusetts Attorney General Smith & Wesson offered to provide the program "In a Flash" free of charge to every Middle School in the Commonwealth if the office of the Attorney General office would facilitate it. "In a Flash", developed by the National Emergency Medical Association, teaches young people to recognize and avoid potentially violent situations. It is a "say no" to violence program that is in use in many other states. Despite repeated attempts to move the program forward, we were unable to get support from the Attorney Generals office.
Contrary to comments by individuals suing us, Smith & Wesson is, and has been, concerned with the misuse of our products. Our approach to addressing the issue has been more proactive and productive than the headline catching efforts of politicians you often read about. Smith & Wesson proactive firearm safety efforts address responsible firearm usage and storage for adults and educational programs for children of all ages.
Smith & Wesson works closely with all local, state and federal agencies to provide rapid and pertinent information as required in criminal investigations. We have recently received a letter of commendation from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms acknowledging Smith & Wesson's exceptional cooperation in criminal investigations.
Smith & Wesson is aggressively pursuing technology that allows only the authorized person to use a handgun. Perhaps the biggest challenge is incorporating this new technology to produce a handgun that is totally reliable. Handguns by design are an example of form follows function and simplicity delivers reliability. Reliability is the most important feature of any firearm. The added technology required for an "authorized user only" gun departs from these basic principles. Whatever safety devices are incorporated or attached to the firearm must not impede the proper, normal use of the gun. A handgun that is 99% reliable is not acceptable to working law enforcement officers, military, private citizens or Smith & Wesson.
Despite all the rhetoric about safety devices that recognize the authorized user and that can be attached to, or incorporated into guns, acceptable technology does not yet exist. Most of the individuals that consistently promote these devices do not have any experience in the design or manufacture of the products, or a vested interest in the reliability of these products in life threatening situations. As a responsible manufacturer of leading edge designed and quality manufactured handguns for over a century, we cannot turn our backs on the millions of military, law enforcement and private citizen users that would be negatively impacted by mandated technology that does not work reliably in a wide range of circumstances.
What is important in this debate is what will make a difference in efforts to reduce violent crimes and accidental shootings, not what makes headlines. Smith & Wesson has always been a responsible corporate citizen of Massachusetts and has employed thousands of people in the greater Springfield area to provide top quality, safe, dependable firearms and non-firearm products for users around the world. We have designed, manufactured and distributed our products in accordance with all laws, and in fact have developed stringent criteria for those that are authorized retailers of our products. A recent jury decision in Brooklyn, New York recognized that Smith & Wesson does in fact conduct distribution of its products in a responsible legal manner.
The Massachusetts Legislature passed a number of laws relating to firearms manufacturers in 1998. It should interest you that Smith & Wesson had been doing the things required by these laws for many years.
Smith & Wesson currently employs approximately 800 people (far less than half of our peak employment in the 1980s) and all of its profits of the 1990s are dwarfed by the Boston lawsuit alone. Smith & Wesson strives to be a solid community and corporate citizen and through financial and product contributions, and the dedication of employee volunteers, has supported a host of organizations across the country that raise funds for a variety or worthwhile causes. Just a few of these are:
Public television, Red Cross, United Way, Make-A-Wish foundation, victims of the Jahn Foundry Explosion, Springfield Scouting, 4-H, the Future Farmers of America, and Junior Achievement.
As Smith & Wesson moves into the next century we will continue our long tradition of innovation in the products we produce. We will continue to develop products that will enable the citizens of Massachusetts and the world to be more secure and safe. But we cannot do this if we are crippled by senseless lawsuits like this. We agree violence in our society is a bad thing. We agree that violence with firearms is a terrible thing. We support fully law enforcements attack on illegal gun trafficking. We assist federal, state and local law enforcement in these efforts. We will continue to do so. But it makes no sense to require a manufacturer of well designed high quality firearms - firearms sold to law enforcement agencies around the world - to defend itself in a lawsuit such as this.
In view of this, and since this lawsuit IS about money and the power certain lawyers think they should have over the public policy, we urge you to write to your representatives, federal, state and local, write to the governor, write to the Mayor of Boston - telling them to drop this senseless suit against Smith & Wesson and to continue their already successful efforts to stop gun violence and gun trafficking through vigorous law enforcement.
L. E. (Ed) Shultz
President & CEO
Smith & Wesson