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S+W and City of Boston drop control deal.
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Gunmaker, Hub drop control deal.
Saturday, April 13, 2002
By WILLIAM FREEBAIRN
A deal between Smith & Wesson Corp. and the city of Boston that was described as a landmark gun control agreement has been quietly dropped by both sides. The city asked a court this week to vacate the consent decree, which was the only specific deal to emerge following a high-profile 2000 deal between the gun company and the Clinton administration.
Although the Boston deal was different in many ways from the federal agreement, it was described at the time as a model for future accords between cities and gun companies. The end of the consent decree frees Smith & Wesson from the requirements that it add internal locking devices to all of its weapons by December, and spend two percent of its revenues on research into technology that would allow a gun to be used only by an authorized user. However, Smith & Wesson said it will continue to devote money to making safety improvements to its products. "We're going to continue to work with Boston; it's a better situation than litigation," said Kenneth W. Jorgensen, a spokesman for the Springfield-based gun company.
The deal to drop Smith & Wesson from the requirements of the December 2000 deal generated some of the most conciliatory language in recent memory from the weapons industry. Lawrence G. Keane, general counsel for a gun manufacturers' trade organization, welcomed Boston's decision to drop its lawsuit against other major gunmakers last month and then abandon the Smith & Wesson consent decree this week. "It's another bold and courageous step by Boston and the Boston Public Health Commission," he said.
The Boston agreement had become dated, said some on both sides, because many of its safety requirements have become mandatory under new state consumer laws. "A lot of what was in the Boston agreement was already Massachusetts law," Keane noted. John E. Rosenthal, the founder and chairman of Boston-based Stop Handgun Violence, said the decision by Boston to drop its lawsuits and withdraw the Smith & Wesson consent decree was practical. Gun regulations in the Bay State have changed significantly since the consent decree was reached in December 2000. "I think the (Boston) lawsuit was more important when the new gun laws and consumer regulations had not yet been upheld by the courts," he said. Courts have upheld many new safety regulations and storage requirements for firearms in Massachusetts. Rosenthal said the stricter laws have reduced the injuries and deaths attributed to guns.
A significant part of the deal for Smith & Wesson will be the fact that it frees it from adding new requirements to its dealers and distributors. The requirement would have prohibited sales of Smith & Wesson weapons by dealers attending gun shows at which background checks are not required. Dealers would have been required to store Smith & Wesson guns in a locked safe overnight and to train employees in an approved safety program. Boston would have been able to request a review of dealers it believed were violating the agreement's provisions, and could have gone to court to have a dealer barred from selling Smith & Wesson products. The new rules were to have been included in contracts with dealers and distributors last year, according to the consent decree. However, Smith & Wesson never complied with that aspect of the deal, officials said.
Smith & Wesson made headlines and earned the ire of many gun rights advocates when it signed a safety and distribution deal in March 2000 with cities that were suing the industry. The agreement was brokered by state and federal officials, and praised by President Bill Clinton in a White House ceremony. Smith & Wesson bucked the rest of the industry and agreed in principal to incorporate safety improvements and more closely monitor its network of dealers. In exchange, it was to be dropped from the mounting tide of lawsuits, including one in Boston. However, customers who believed the deal represented an erosion of gun rights stopped buying Smith & Wesson handguns, causing sales to plummet. Smith & Wesson let go 125 workers in October. The gunmaker signed the Boston consent decree in December, settling the lawsuit that sought to recover up to $100 million in social costs of gun violence from firearms manufacturers. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said the deal would save lives. No other suits were settled as a result of the March agreement with cities, and in January a Republican administration took over and distanced itself from the deal. In May, Smith & Wesson was purchased by owners who also backed away from the deal as much as possible.
c 2002 UNION-NEWS. Used with permission.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/misc/dealdrop.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Saturday, April 13, 2002
By WILLIAM FREEBAIRN
A deal between Smith & Wesson Corp. and the city of Boston that was described as a landmark gun control agreement has been quietly dropped by both sides. The city asked a court this week to vacate the consent decree, which was the only specific deal to emerge following a high-profile 2000 deal between the gun company and the Clinton administration.
Although the Boston deal was different in many ways from the federal agreement, it was described at the time as a model for future accords between cities and gun companies. The end of the consent decree frees Smith & Wesson from the requirements that it add internal locking devices to all of its weapons by December, and spend two percent of its revenues on research into technology that would allow a gun to be used only by an authorized user. However, Smith & Wesson said it will continue to devote money to making safety improvements to its products. "We're going to continue to work with Boston; it's a better situation than litigation," said Kenneth W. Jorgensen, a spokesman for the Springfield-based gun company.
The deal to drop Smith & Wesson from the requirements of the December 2000 deal generated some of the most conciliatory language in recent memory from the weapons industry. Lawrence G. Keane, general counsel for a gun manufacturers' trade organization, welcomed Boston's decision to drop its lawsuit against other major gunmakers last month and then abandon the Smith & Wesson consent decree this week. "It's another bold and courageous step by Boston and the Boston Public Health Commission," he said.
The Boston agreement had become dated, said some on both sides, because many of its safety requirements have become mandatory under new state consumer laws. "A lot of what was in the Boston agreement was already Massachusetts law," Keane noted. John E. Rosenthal, the founder and chairman of Boston-based Stop Handgun Violence, said the decision by Boston to drop its lawsuits and withdraw the Smith & Wesson consent decree was practical. Gun regulations in the Bay State have changed significantly since the consent decree was reached in December 2000. "I think the (Boston) lawsuit was more important when the new gun laws and consumer regulations had not yet been upheld by the courts," he said. Courts have upheld many new safety regulations and storage requirements for firearms in Massachusetts. Rosenthal said the stricter laws have reduced the injuries and deaths attributed to guns.
A significant part of the deal for Smith & Wesson will be the fact that it frees it from adding new requirements to its dealers and distributors. The requirement would have prohibited sales of Smith & Wesson weapons by dealers attending gun shows at which background checks are not required. Dealers would have been required to store Smith & Wesson guns in a locked safe overnight and to train employees in an approved safety program. Boston would have been able to request a review of dealers it believed were violating the agreement's provisions, and could have gone to court to have a dealer barred from selling Smith & Wesson products. The new rules were to have been included in contracts with dealers and distributors last year, according to the consent decree. However, Smith & Wesson never complied with that aspect of the deal, officials said.
Smith & Wesson made headlines and earned the ire of many gun rights advocates when it signed a safety and distribution deal in March 2000 with cities that were suing the industry. The agreement was brokered by state and federal officials, and praised by President Bill Clinton in a White House ceremony. Smith & Wesson bucked the rest of the industry and agreed in principal to incorporate safety improvements and more closely monitor its network of dealers. In exchange, it was to be dropped from the mounting tide of lawsuits, including one in Boston. However, customers who believed the deal represented an erosion of gun rights stopped buying Smith & Wesson handguns, causing sales to plummet. Smith & Wesson let go 125 workers in October. The gunmaker signed the Boston consent decree in December, settling the lawsuit that sought to recover up to $100 million in social costs of gun violence from firearms manufacturers. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said the deal would save lives. No other suits were settled as a result of the March agreement with cities, and in January a Republican administration took over and distanced itself from the deal. In May, Smith & Wesson was purchased by owners who also backed away from the deal as much as possible.
c 2002 UNION-NEWS. Used with permission.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/misc/dealdrop.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878