-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- Here's the article from freecongress.org (via NewsMax.Com) followed by my comment to them about a phrase in the article. The question becomes: who'd afraid of the lawsuits, the Americans' or the parent (non-American) companies? I would venture a guess that Bill Jeff is taking lending his ear to some of his Euro-Buddies. This is like the 'banana wars': DoJ sues the gun makers and winds up p'ing off the Euros who really own the gun manufacturers (except for Ruger). The dough from any settlement comes out of Britland or Belgium or Italy or Austria. So, what do they do? Put an embargo on gun shipments to / close down the factories over here in the U.S. (hint: that would be a good time to buy Ruger stock)? A<>E<>R {{<Begin>}} NewsMax.com CommentMax Gun Manufacturer Fell for Smoke Screen Lisa Dean March 28, 2000 There's a story that's been told before but bears repeating. It's the story of a man who, while walking down a dirt path, encountered a snake that had somehow been injured and pleaded with the man to help him. The man shook his head and said, "I'm not going to touch you. You're a snake and you'll bite me." But the snake promised that he wouldn't bite him because he really needed his help. So the man reached down, picked up the snake and proceeded to treat his injuries when all of a sudden, the snake lashed out and bit him! Stunned, the man exclaimed, "You promised that if I helped you that you wouldn't bite me and you bit me anyway!" To which the snake replied, "Why are you so surprised? You knew very well what I was when you picked me up." Now, let's say the man in this story is actually United States gun manufacturers and the snake is the Clinton administration. That being the case, you should now have an accurate picture of what the latest story is on our Second Amendment rights in America. The Clinton Administration has been trying for years to strip Americans of their constitutional right to own guns and little by little, have advanced their cause. Instead of viewing tragedies such as Columbine and other shootings of school children and innocent people as acts committed by mentally unstable people heavily influenced by a godless, secular environment, this administration used them to advance their gun-grabbing agenda. The major media reported late last week that Smith and Wesson, by far the largest and most well-known gun manufacturer in the United States, struck a deal with the Clinton administration to allow them to continue manufacturing guns. The deal is essentially ideal for an industry that fears the same litigious treatment by the administration and the public with regard to guns that's currently being endured by the tobacco industry regarding smoking. The deal is this, in exchange for a promise by the administration granting the company legal immunity and to avoid lawsuits filed by nearly 30 states, cities and counties in an attempt by those governments to recover the losses incurred through gun-related violence, Smith and Wesson will agree to alter the manufacture of their guns. The guns they manufacture will contain mandatory trigger locks so that while the guns may look threatening, they are actually rendered useless. Also, Smith and Wesson will ensure that background checks take place at both retail establishments and gun shows, that smart gun technology is used so that every gun has a so-called ballistic fingerprint in order for law enforcement to easily detect which bullet was fired from which gun, as well as biometric identification which will enable the gun to be fired only after recognizing the shooter's fingerprint. On March 22, it was reported that two other gun manufacturers -- Glock, located in Austria, and Browning -- have both considered and rejected similar settlements to the one made with Smith & Wesson, which puts a completely different spin on the issue. While Smith & Wesson undoubtedly accepted the administration's proposal out of fear of having to lose millions of dollars in lawsuits, the other companies took a different approach. They heeded the advice of the organizations, individuals and even their clientele, without whom, the companies wouldn't be in business anyway. So the question arises, what is likely to happen to Smith & Wesson? Aside from getting a few days of good press, the company will get no benefit from this deal at all. While it may have been granted immunity from legal action from federal, state and local governments, they are still liable as individuals still have the freedom to sue the industry. Just look at the tobacco industry. It's getting slapped with more lawsuits right now than it can handle, many from individuals who lost loved ones to lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases. Even if lawsuits weren't in the equation here, there is still no benefit. The trigger lock technology alone is enough to encourage people to buy from Smith & Wesson's competitors who have so far refused the compromise. Who wants to be fiddling with a trigger lock while their house is being ransacked or they're faced with an attacker at three o'clock in the morning? And as far as background checks go, there is another deterrent. Gun buyers don't want the federal government keeping their names and personal information stored in databases, as if they are somehow criminals for wanting to exercise their constitutional right to own a gun. These two policies alone are enough to cause the black market to flourish in this country and the downfall of companies such as Smith & Wesson to be inevitable. The latter is precisely what this administration wants to see happen. It's happening already to the tobacco industry, now they're attempting to use the same tactics to bring down the gun industry. They will have a tougher time though. Gun owners and advocates tend to cherish and defend the Constitution, probably more than any other group of people in the United States. Smith & Wesson would have been wise to follow the lead of their competitors by listening to their clientele rather than believing the promises made by a snake. Lisa Dean is vice president of FreeCongress.org's Center for Technology Policy. Reprint Information All Rights Reserved © NewsMax.com {{<End>}} From: "Alamaine" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date sent: Sun, 2 Apr 2000 13:32:05 -0500 Subject: Lisa Dean: Guns & Smoke Screens Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Priority: normal Just scanned through the article available @ freecongress.org and NewsMax.Com and this caught my eye: "" On March 22nd it was reported that two other gun manufacturers, Glock, located in Austria, ... "" I think a good follow-up to this aritcle might be a run-down of who (as in "what country") actually owns the gun manufacturers who deal in the U.S. If I search my recollection for the specificity of the facts, I might find that only -- as in ONLY -- Ruger is American owned. You might find that S & W, that old "American" stalwart manufacturer, among others, is actually controlled by the Britlanders. Now, does this remove some wool (probalbly Britlander as well) from the eyes? We hear Buchanan rail against sending control of U.S. industries overseas and this is one example of what happens when we fail to retain control over those that DIRECTLY affect our Constitutional rights and obligations. Selling out to the Britlanders is like Constitution nullification, which in itself is oxymoronic in that the Constitution was developed to establish the U.S. as separate and distinct from Britlander Sovereignty (BS) and other Old World nations. The tip of the sunked log that is destined to sink our ship of state, what, eh? A<>E<>R P.S.: Here's the article that reinforces my comment above: >From the Washington (DC) Post > Exporters of Guns Flock to U.S. > > By Sharon Walsh > Washington Post Staff Writer > Monday, June 28, 1999; Page A1 > > As increasingly restrictive gun laws are enacted in major industrialized > countries, gunmakers around the globe are flocking to the biggest and > least regulated gun market in the world – the United States. > > At least a dozen entities with familiar names in the United States, from > historic Smith & Wesson and Winchester to Beretta and Glock, are owned > by foreign companies, many of which are legally constrained from selling > in their own countries many of the guns they produce. But as countries > overseas increasingly have cracked down on gun sales at home, they have > not passed similar laws regarding exports. > > Just more than half of the 1.7 million handguns made or imported in the > United States came from foreign companies or were made by their > subsidiaries, according to 1997 figures from individual companies and > the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. > > Gun industry officials say they are simply selling their products in the > best possible market. > > "Companies invest where there are markets, and the U.S. is one of the > few places in the world where gun ownership proliferates," said Wendy > Cukier, a professor of business and justice studies at Ryerson > Polytechnic University in Toronto who has written about differences in > international gun laws. "That doesn't change the fact that Americans > decide the level of gun ownership they'll tolerate." > > Jeff Reh, Beretta U.S.A. Corp.'s general counsel, said the U.S. > subsidiary is responsible only for marketing guns here. "It's not > hypocritical for a company to obey the laws of the country it sells in," > he said of the differences in gun laws in the United States and Italy. > "It doesn't mean the company agrees the law is logical. It just means > it's acting as a good corporate citizen." > > "Some countries choose to have stricter gun laws. ... We think that's > unfortunate," said Travis Hall, public relations manager for Browning > and U.S. Repeating Arms Co., which owns the license to make Winchester > firearms. Browning and Winchester are sister companies owned by Fabrique > Nationale Group, an entity of the Belgian government. Many of their guns > are made in Japan, where it is virtually impossible for a private > citizen to own a gun. > > Beretta U.S.A., with U.S. headquarters in Accokeek, Md., is a subsidiary > of the Italian gun company P. Beretta S.p.A. Glock Inc., one of the > biggest providers of guns to U.S. police departments, is an offshoot of > an Austrian company. SIGArms Inc., an importer of handguns in New > Hampshire, is a division of Swiss Industrial Group, which imports from > Switzerland and Germany. Each of those countries has more restrictive > gun laws than the United States. > > "One of the things that isn't understood about the gun business in this > country is the extent of foreign ownership and importing of foreign-made > guns," said Tom Diaz, of the Violence Policy Center, a pro gun-control > group. "When people talk about guns in America, they tend to talk about > patriotism and try to wrap it in the American flag." > > According to a recent United Nations study on firearms regulation, 29 > countries in the past five years tightened rules on the civilian > ownership of firearms. Gun manufacturers and other experts say that as > tougher gun laws have been enacted overseas, the United States has > become even more important as a gun market. > > "The biggest market [for guns] is in the U.S.," said Ken Jorgenson, > general counsel of Smith & Wesson, the largest maker of handguns in the > United States and a subsidiary of a British conglomerate. Two years ago, > after a 1996 elementary-school massacre in Scotland, the British > government outlawed the sale of all handguns and ordered the surrender > of all existing handguns. > > With virtually all gun manufacturers privately held, it is difficult to > assemble a complete picture of the profits, revenues or even market > share in the global gun market. Only one U.S. gun manufacturer – Sturm, > Ruger & Co. – is publicly owned and thus discloses financial > information, while many foreign-owned companies are part of big > corporations that do not break out financial information about their > subsidiaries. The U.S. government keeps records only of how many guns > each country exports, not how many guns are exported by a particular > company, and other governments provide even less information. The > Commerce Department, in fact, reports higher gun imports than the ATF. > > "Most governments don't make their figures available," said Kate Joseph, > an analyst for the British American Security Information Council. > "Private companies don't make their figures available. So it's virtually > impossible to get a clear picture of it." > > In some cases, foreign gun companies have set up plants in the United > States specifically so they can make guns here that they couldn't > import. Congress has set higher standards for guns that are imported > than for guns made in this country. > > For example, Taurus International Manufacturing Inc., an underling of > Brazil's largest gunmaker, produces guns in Miami and also imports them. > Brazilian companies export about 90 percent of the guns made in that > country, making it the second-largest handgun exporter to the United > States. In 1982, Taurus opened a plant in Miami that makes tens of > thousands of guns and is one of the biggest gun factories in the > country. It sells the majority of those guns in the United States. > > Taurus, maker of such guns as the Raging Bull 454 Casull double-action > revolver, is one of the largest makers of firearms in the world. It > began shipping handguns to the United States in 1968, not long after the > Brazilian government passed legislation that would restrict its sales > there, particularly of 9mm semiautomatic pistols, according to an > account at the time by the publication Guns & Ammo. > > Gun laws may get even stronger in Brazil. The state of Rio de Janerio > recently passed one of the toughest gun laws in the world, and Brazilian > lawmakers are debating a similar law for the whole country. > > Industry officials note that foreign buyers have helped bring needed > financing and stability to some of the most venerated U.S. gun > manufacturers, notably Smith & Wesson, a formerly family-owned business > founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson in the 1850s. > > "A lot of gun owners were very upset that this icon of an American > company was sold to the British," Jorgenson said. "But it was probably > the best thing that ever happened to this company. We might not still be > here if it hadn't happened." > > Tomkins PLC, a British diversified manufacturer of prosaic but > profitable products ranging from lawn mowers to baked goods and > windshield wipers, bought Smith & Wesson in 1987. At the time the > gunmaker's manufacturing equipment could have been a turn-of-the-century > museum exhibit. Tomkins later poured more than $60 million into updating > it. > > Glock of Austria assembles about 200,000 handguns a year from > Austrian-made parts at a plant near Atlanta. Austria is also the No. 1 > exporter of guns to the United States, shipping more than 170,000 guns > in 1998, according to the Customs Service. Virtually all of those guns > were Glocks, since there is no other major Austrian exporter of guns. In > Austria, citizens must be 21 to own a handgun, must have a license and > can buy a maximum of two handguns per person. > > Beretta U.S.A. is a subsidiary of the oldest gun company in the world, > founded in Italy in the 14th century. Like other European countries, > Italy requires hunters to show membership in a hunting club in which > they have been trained before they get a license for a rifle. For a > handgun, individuals must prove they genuinely need the gun for > self-defense. > > Others note that the countries that produce these guns like to point out > that the United States has far more gun crimes and deaths than they do. > > "Europeans are so sanctimonious about their gun-control laws," said Jim > Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police and a former > ATF official. "But their shock at our rate of gun deaths doesn't keep > them from making guns. ... It's ironic that the money goes back to those > countries." > > > © 1999 The Washington Post Company A<>E<>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Integrity has no need of rules. -Albert Camus (1913-1960) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense." --Buddha + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." 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