Editorial

Gun Wisdom
As I write this, theres a big United Nations conference going on that seeks to control the so-called illicit gun trade between nations. This is chilling, because there are few countries in the world outside the U.S. which respect gun ownership. Its not too big a reach to think that gun confiscationists worldwide will take any trade restrictions on any firearms they can get anywhere, since their ultimate agenda is to take everyones right to self-defense away wherever they can. That makes controlling people-and murdering them in the name of the good of the state-much easier to accomplish.

I received an unsigned email the other day that included a few additiona...

Many shooters will be happy to learn that Smith & Wesson, or whats left of it, has been purchased by Saf-T-Hammer Corp., the Scottsdale-based firearms-safety and security company.

Smith & Wesson, a brand name for 147 years, would be at the top of any list of immediately identifiable corporate logos recognized worldwide, said Bob Scott, president of Saf-T-Hammer and former vice president of Smith & Wesson.

Tomkins Corp., a subsidiary of U.K.-based Tomkins PLC, sold Smith & Wesson for $15 million in cash, with $5 million paid upon closing and the balance due in May 2002. As of the close, Smith & Wessons total assets were approximately $97 million, which includes two manufacturing fa...

New Yorks high court rules… In a major defeat for anti-firearm activists, the New York Court of Appeals unanimously ruled today that victims of firearms-related violence cannot sue firearms manufacturers for the criminal misuse of a non-defective product, stating that Federal law already has implemented a statutory and regulatory scheme to ensure seller responsibility through licensing requirements and buyer responsibility through background checks.

The Court ruled in Hamilton v. Accu-Tek that an entire industry cannot be held responsible for the criminal use of a legally manufactured and non-defective product because the connection between the manufacturer and the crimin...

Congressional Battle Looms Over Gun Show Issue… The stage is being set for a renewed gun control debate in Congress as U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) are reportedly working together on legislation to require background checks on all firearm sales at gun shows. Word that the two are drafting a bill that may also include a government requirement for gun locks coincides with a newly announced national television ad campaign aimed at closing the so-called gun show loophole.

Gun show legislation passed both houses of Congress last year but died in conference committee when agreement could not be reached over how much time to allow for conducting the check...

Ashcrofts Views. In his first public interview since taking office, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft made it clear that he feels the nation has enough [gun] laws on the books and that enforcement of current laws is the answer to criminal violence.

Criticizing the Clinton Administration for allowing federal gun prosecutions to decline 46 percent over the past eight years, Ashcroft endorsed Richmond, Virginias Project Exile program, which focuses federal resources on apprehending, prosecuting, and penalizing felons who use guns to commit crimes.

Environmental Problem Solved? For the first time ever in the United States, a shooting range has received a federal perm...

Blue Dog Democrats Reject Gun Control: A coalition of some 30 conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives, blaming their partys failure to win back the House because of the gun-control issue, are urging their party to drop it from the Democratic agenda. The group believes the issue hurt Democratic candidates in many races. As we analyzed what happened and why were not successful in some of these races, that [gun control] just stands out, said U.S. Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR).

House Democratic leadership aides blame the Clinton administrations aggressive stance on gun control for the partys poor showing. We dont want it to be part of the Democratic agenda. We just do...

There is no doubt that widespread voter turnout by American gun owners influenced the outcome of this years elections, most notably in the race for the White House, but in the House of Representatives as well.

Despite Vice President Al Gore reportedly winning the overall popular vote due to his margins in major metropolitan areas like New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, he ultimately lost because he failed to win the electoral vote in such key swing states as Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and his home state of Tennessee, all targeted by the NRA and the NSSF for major voter registration and turnout drives to reach hunters and shooting sports enthusiasts.

The NRAs effort was s...

The Massachusetts Gun Control Act of 1998 continues to plague Massachusetts gun owners, and it has become particularly oppressive for retail handgun consumers, a Gun Tests reader writes us from the Bay State. Hes very involved in certain aspects of the regulatory process, and his background on how Second Amendment rights continue to be eroded there raised my eyebrows.

Among the many provisions of the Act are a complicated set of handgun testing requirements that apply to handguns sold by Massachusetts firearms dealers.

The first of these requirements is a handgun performance test that requires three samples in new condition to fire 600 rounds each without breakage and with no more t...

The 2000 elections should be only a week or two away, depending on when you actually receive this copy of Gun Tests. Your willingness to get up off the couch and go vote will be important if we expect to have the ability to keep and bear arms into the future. As you might expect, we have some opinions about how you should cast your vote. Since we advise you every month on how you should spend some of your money, allow us a moment to guide you on how to spend your political capital as well:

• Please vote for anybody but Al Gore for president. He will push registration down our throats if he wins, followed shortly by some sort of fee/transfer tax, followed by transfer restrictions, f...

A California jurist and Gun Tests reader recently wrote me a short note that said, Enclosed please find a photocopy of United States Code Title 10, Section 311, which contains the definition of militia. Your readers concerned with Second Amendment issues may find this to be of interest.

It was. Heres what Title 10, Section 311 says:

Sec. 311. Militia: composition and classes
(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of t...

We have discovered why you have so much trouble trying to reach the customer service departments of major computer companies and internet services. They're too busy giving lessons to the customer service departments of firearms manufacturers.

Does this sound familiar? Recorded Voice: Hello, thank you for calling (name of company goes here). This is our new menu. If you know the extension of the person you are calling, press number one. For customer service, press two. If you want a catalog, press three. For parts information, press four. For additional choices, press five. If you would like to hear this menu again, press six.

You press two. Recorded Voice: We're sorry, all our custome...

A group at the University of California, Davis calling itself The Violence Prevention Research Program and headed by an emergency-room physician mildly involved in the shooting sports is zeroing in on cheap autoloaders with a vengeance. Their targets are what they refer to as California's "Ring of Fire Companies": Sundance Industries, AMT, Phoenix Arms, Davis, Lorcin and Jennings/Bryco.

According to the program reports, these companies produce the vast majority of inexpensive handguns that are "disproportionately involved in violence and figure in thousands of firearms crimes a year."

Let's chill out the rhetoric a bit. Inexpensive handguns have been around since handguns were invente...