Word: wesson
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...Smith & Wesson was negotiating its safer-handguns deal with the Clinton Administration, the largest U.S. gunmaker was also secretly negotiating with a former Alexandria, Ohio, police sergeant who had discovered a potentially deadly design flaw in its semiautomatic pistols. Jeff Perry said he contacted the gunmaker after his 9-mm unexpectedly went off during a firearms-training session. The company's safety manuals for the gun say that if the user removes the magazine from the gun, it cannot fire even if a round is left in the chamber. However, Perry found that if slight pressure...
After Smith & Wesson confirmed the problem, it offered Perry $1,400 if he would sign a nondisclosure agreement; Perry also wanted a safety notification sent to gun owners. When the company upped the offer to "nearly $30,000," said Perry, he agreed and quit talking, except to acknowledge that he got an "appreciation fee." James Gannalo, a police ballistics expert, found the same problem when he tested several Smith & Wesson models for TIME. "It's a threat," he said, "because hand tension could cause the gun to fire when [the handler] believed it was safe." Smith & Wesson declined comment...
Rather like the class snitch who returns to the schoolyard after tattling on his classmates, gunmaker Smith & Wesson appears to be feeling the effects of breaking ranks with its fellow firearms manufacturers. On March 17, the Massachusetts-based firm signed a historic agreement with state and federal government agencies in which the company agreed to implement several safety measures, including trigger locks, on its weapons. In exchange for Smith & Wesson's commitment, the government terminated many of the myriad lawsuits looming against the company. Initially, that compromise seemed to suit both parties: Smith & Wesson was assured a certain degree...
...government says it is having to act to prevent its prize pupil from being beaten up. Because of Smith & Wesson's actions, according to a report in Thursday's New York Times, gun distributors and wholesalers are excluding its products from their stores and shows, and have made it clear the company is unwelcome at shooting matches. The company's legal counsel, which counts other gun makers among its clients, announced it would no longer represent Smith & Wesson. In response to this apparent stonewall - which the gun industry says is not coordinated - the government has moved quickly, launching antitrust investigations...
While they may be comforted by this support, Smith & Wesson officials were probably taken aback by the alleged attack, says TIME correspondent Edward Barnes. "I think they were pretty surprised by it, and the government's speed of reaction indicates they weren't expecting such a strong rejoinder either." In the long run, says Barnes, the rest of the gun industry will probably fall in line with Smith & Wesson as they slowly acknowledge the turning tides. But in the meantime, it appears they're doing everything they can to make it clear that cozying up to the government...