Echoes Of The Accord

Guns Magazine, July, 2000 by Scott Farrell

On March 17, 2000, Smith & Wesson entered into an agreement with the federal government to abide by certain manufacturing, marketing and sales restrictions in exchange for dismissal from the lawsuits being filed by city, state and federal governments. Some hail this agreement as a landmark decision, others criticize it as backdoor gun control. Here, then, are some of the views and opinions which have made headlines in the past few months:

"The manufacturer parties (Smith & Wesson) and the Departments of the Treasury (and HUD) [ldots] enter into this Agreement to reduce the criminal misuses of firearms, combat the illegal acquisition, possession and trafficking of firearms, reduce the incidence of firearms accidents, and educate the public on the safe handling and storage of firearms. [ldots]"

- Opening statement of the S&W settlement

"Our goal [ldots] 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."

- S&W spokesman Ken Jorgensen

"(This agreement) says that gun makers can and will share in the responsibility to keep their products out of the wrong hands. And it says that gun makers can and will make their guns much safer without infringing on anyone's rights."

- President Clinton

"This is a futile act of craven self-interest. In their rush to liquidate an inconvenient asset, executives at Tomkins PLC (S&W's British parent company) are jeopardizing an entire U.S. industry and undermining a Constitutionally guaranteed right."

- NRA chief lobbyist James Baker

"The parties to this Agreement will work together to support legislative efforts to reduce firearms misuse and the development of authorized user technology (and) shall dedicate one percent of annual firearms revenues to a trust fund to implement a public service campaign [ldots] about the risk of firearms misuse, safe storage, and the need to dispose of firearms responsibly. [ldots]"

- Text from the S&W agreement

"(The agreement) mandates [ldots] an impressive array of safety features [ldots] that will prevent once and for all accidental gun deaths and keep children safe."

- HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo

"Obviously there are positives (in the agreement), but more can be obtained."

- Jack Maistros, attorney for the City of Cleveland

"The largest American handgun maker has said, 'Of course we can do these things, and we're doing them.' You can be sure we will use that against other companies."

- Dennis Henigan, legal counsel of Handgun Control, Inc.

"I think its a good thing. You have to be mentally defective not to do something to protect children."

- Shooting range owner in Broward County, Fla.

"I think it's very typical of the Clinton administration to try and push a manufacturer to take responsibility instead of the individual (gun owner)."

- Gun shop owner in Hialeah, Fla.

"A decision to enter this agreement, we realized, would not be popular with everyone. But we believe [ldots] it is the right thing to do."

- S&W President Ed Shultz

As with most gun-related news stories, coverage of the S&W settlement has been mainly limited to 10-second "soundbites." Most news commentators have simply summarized the complex, 21-page contract as a "trigger lock agreement." GUNS Magazine urges readers to obtain and read the full text of the document.

Don't just let the news media -- or GUNS Magazine for that matter -- make up your mind for you. The full text of the agreement can be found at www.shootingindustry.com.