By JEFF DONN
Associated Press Writer
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- A lawsuit by gun makers has deepened the rift
between Smith & Wesson and the rest of the largely unified industry.
Smith & Wesson, the nation's leading pistol maker, has been charting its
own way since entering into a landmark safety agreement with the government
March 17. The Springfield-based manufacturer promised to install safety locks,
demand background checks on gun-show buyers and work on making guns that can
be fired only by their owner.
The rest of the industry, so far, is resisting.
And on Wednesday, gun makers and a trade group sued the federal government
and 16 cities. They say the government is illegally squelching trade by
encouraging city police departments to buy Smith & Wesson guns.
"Smith & Wesson has rewarded the bullying tactic of the government through
capitulation," Jeff Reh, a lawyer for Beretta U.S.A. in Accokeek, Md., said
Thursday. "The gun industry is unified. The only people who have taken a
separate path are Smith & Wesson."
The company, however, had expected some other gun makers to sign on, said
Smith & Wesson spokesman Ken Jorgensen.
"There were going to be some upset consumers. There were going to be some
upset dealers," he said. "I think we have been surprised by the reaction of
some of the industry."
The lawsuit does not directly target Smith & Wesson. But it implicates
the gun maker because competitors feel the government is trying to "coerce
these other manufacturers to sign onto this code," said Doug Painter,
director of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade group that
took the lead in the lawsuit.
"Even if it was not expressed totally overtly, the idea of a buying
preference ... was at least in the back of everyone's mind" when the safety
code was negotiated, said Paul Jannuzzo, vice president of Smyrna, Ga.-based
Glock gun makers. "Everybody on both sides thought about it."
But Jorgensen denied that, adding, "We have no control over whether someone
gives us preferential treatment or not."
Federal officials announced Thursday that 190 local governments have joined
in a pact giving preference to Smith & Wesson guns. Officials have also agreed
to drop the company from municipal lawsuits challenging the safety and
marketing practices of the gun industry.
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