Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

The Smith & Wesson Sellout

Monday, March 20, 2000

On April 27, 1999, President Bill Clinton officially declared his Administration's war on American gun owners by identifying his enemy: "another culture in our country, that I think has gotten confused about its objectives (the) huge hunting and sport shooting culture in America."

Smith & Wesson, Inc., a British-owned company, recently became the first to run up the white flag of surrender and run behind the Clinton-Gore lines, leaving its competitors in the U.S. firearms industry to carry on the fight for the Second Amendment. Of course, there is no Second Amendment in Britain, where subjects are barred from owning handguns and many long guns.

In an act of craven self-interest, on March 17, 2000, Smith & Wesson (S & W) signed an agreement with the Departments of the Treasury and Housing and Urban Development in order to be dropped as a defendant in a handful of reckless lawsuits filed by municipalities against the firearms industry. Only a day after the settlement was announced, HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo and the mayors of Atlanta, Detroit and Miami moved to shore up the S & W maneuver by promising to contort their procurement policies and purchase only the company's guns.

The media instantly portrayed the settlement as an agreement by S & W to adopt gun safety measures. In fact, the settlement doesn't merely alter the design of S & W handguns--it elevates S & W to the role of self-appointed arbiter of national gun policy.

Distributors and dealers who want to continue to sell S & W products will be forced to agree to a wish list of gun-prohibitionist demands such as: 14-day waiting periods, bans of affordable self-defense handguns, paying for anti-gun advertising, to name a few.

"I'm not willing to be a pawn in a political chess game," S & W CEO Ed Shultz is quoted in the March 27, 2000, edition of Newsweek. Yet by signing this sweeping agreement, Shultz has become exactly that, manipulated by the Administration into executing a "settlement" that is widely portrayed as a political victory for the White House.

Yet the agreement dispenses with only a third of the municipal lawsuits, and binds only two federal agencies and two state attorneys general from filing suits in the future. The remaining city suits are unaffected, and other state and federal agencies can continue to threaten the industry at will. The price of S & W's maneuver falls primarily on others--lawful firearm dealers, distributors, other manufacturers and law-abiding American citizens.

Here are just some of the terms of the S & W/Clinton-Gore Administration agreement:

CONSUMER IMPACT . . .

  • Prohibited from buying more than one handgun in a 14-day period.
  • Prohibited from buying a firearm without passing an unspecified safety test.
  • Prohibited from buying a self-defense handgun that did not meet arbitrary accuracy standards.
  • Prohibited, if under age 18, from even walking into the firearms section of a sporting goods store unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.

DEALER IMPACT . . .

  • Prohibited from selling legal semi-automatic rifles, commonplace ammunition magazines and firearms that do not meet the difficult standards established in the agreement.
  • Prohibited from selling firearms at any gun show where any legal private sale is conducted.
  • Required to include with every firearm sold, a false written statement in large bold-face type that hundreds of children die each year from firearm accidents.
  • Required to carry $1 million in liability insurance and perform tasks properly handled by law enforcement to comply with the edicts of a new "Oversight Commission."

MANUFACTURER IMPACT . . .

  • Prohibited from marketing any firearm in a way that appeals to young shooters and hunters.
  • Required to dedicate 1% of revenues to a propaganda campaign promoting the dangers of gun ownership.
  • Required to support legislative efforts to reduce firearms misuse and development of "smart" gun technology.
  • Required to "ballistically fingerprint" every firearm, thus setting up backdoor national firearms registration.
  • Required to meet certain unproven design standards for handguns sold only to civilians--guns sold to military and police would be exempted, thereby showing the intent is not to make guns safer or better, but to impose standards that will ultimately eliminate sales, to private citizens.
  • Required to manufacture pistol with positive, manually-operated safety devices as determined by BATF standards applying to imported handguns. BATF has repeatedly handed down politically-driven misinterpretations of the "sporting purposes" importation law, to prohibit many semi-auto rifles and handguns.

CONCLUSION:

Sold as getting S & W out from under reckless litigation, the true intent of this agreement is to force down the throats of an entire lawful industry anti-gun polices rejected by the Congress, rejected by legislatures across America, and rejected by the judges who have dismissed their lawsuits in whole or in part nearly without exception.

IN THIS ARTICLE
Handguns Reckless Lawsuits
TRENDING NOW
New York’s Ammunition Background Check System: An Expensive Wreck?

Gun Laws  

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

New York’s Ammunition Background Check System: An Expensive Wreck?

The F-35 stealth jet isn’t the only example of expensive technology that crashed recently. The implementation of New York’s ammunition background check law – the rollout of which was, to be generous, extremely low visibility – was ...

Biden Creates New Office to Funnel Taxpayer Funds to Gun Control Advocacy

Gun Laws  

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Biden Creates New Office to Funnel Taxpayer Funds to Gun Control Advocacy

Professional gun control advocates have always had a seat at the table in the Biden White House. Now, however, they will not only sit at the table but determine its menu, set it, and compile ...

Seeking Attention, Not Solutions in New Mexico

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Seeking Attention, Not Solutions in New Mexico

After several weeks of the abject failure of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) attempt to suspend constitutional rights in her state, there are a number of theories as to what, exactly, she was ...

California: Governor Newsom Continues His Vendetta Against Lawful Gun Owners Signing Multiple Anti-Gun Bills into Law

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

California: Governor Newsom Continues His Vendetta Against Lawful Gun Owners Signing Multiple Anti-Gun Bills into Law

On Tuesday, September 26th, California Governor Gavin Newsom hosted a signing ceremony in Sacramento where he signed multiple anti-gun bills into law, most notably: an 11% excise tax on all firearms and ammunition; vastly expanded concealed carry ...

Massachusetts: Update on Proposed Sweeping Gun Control

Monday, July 17, 2023

Massachusetts: Update on Proposed Sweeping Gun Control

Late last month, Massachusetts politicians put forth HD 4420, “an act modernizing firearm laws.” This massive piece of legislation re-writes gun laws in the Commonwealth and imposes unprecedented gun-control.

NRA Slams Gov. Newsom's Latest Assault on Second Amendment

Gun Laws  

Second Amendment  

News  

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

NRA Slams Gov. Newsom's Latest Assault on Second Amendment

The National Rifle Association released the following statement on California Gov. Newsom's signing of gun control: "The NRA condemns the legislation enacted by Gov. Newsom. It is a blatant and egregious attack on the rights ...

Changes Coming Soon for New York State Gun Owners

News  

Monday, August 21, 2023

Changes Coming Soon for New York State Gun Owners

There are some significant changes due to take effect early next month in the Empire State.

Massachusetts: 2A Rally in Boston Commons, on September 27th

Friday, September 22, 2023

Massachusetts: 2A Rally in Boston Commons, on September 27th

Gun Owners’ Action League (GOAL) will be holding a rally against HD 4420 “an act modernizing firearm laws,” on Wednesday, September 27th.  NRA members and Second Amendment right supporters are encouraged to join the rally ...

Grassroots Spotlight: New Mexicans Rally to Oppose Gun Control

Take Action  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Grassroots Spotlight: New Mexicans Rally to Oppose Gun Control

New Mexico rallied in solidarity to defend the Second Amendment! On Saturday, September 16th, your NRA-ILA Grassroots team and 100 law-abiding New Mexicans gathered at Calibers Shooting Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and spoke out “on ...

Colorado: Anti-Hunting Legislation Initiative 91 Scheduled for Public Comment

Hunting  

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Colorado: Anti-Hunting Legislation Initiative 91 Scheduled for Public Comment

On Friday, September 22nd, Initiative 91 was filed to appear on the ballot in the November 2024 election in a push by anti-hunting advocates trying to stop the age-old practice of hunting predators, such as ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.