Safety Standards for Handguns
Re “Facts Don’t Back Anti-Gun Crew,” Commentary, Oct. 13: Chuck Michel’s claim that no Saturday night special has ever exploded is false. In fact, as recently as last month, an appeals court ordered major California junk gun manufacturer Bryco Arms to pay $350,000 because a Bryco pistol exploded, causing serious injury (Chronister vs. Bryco Arms).
Right now the largest California junk gun manufacturer, Lorcin Engineering, is seeking bankruptcy protection because it has over $18 million in liability suits pending against it. Lorcin’s bankruptcy filing indicates that it spends nearly twice as much on liability insurance for its junk guns as it does to actually make the weapons--yet even that is not enough to cover all the lawsuits stemming from the junk guns that malfunction.
Saturday night specials are indeed unsafe, as the NRA itself acknowledged following the murder of Robert Kennedy. In 1968, the NRA called for a ban on what it called “junky” and “shoddily manufactured” handguns. The NRA said that such weapons were “miserably made, potentially defective arms that contribute much to rising violence,” and concluded that “most honest-to-goodness gun owners wouldn’t have one around.”
The dangerous record of today’s California-made Saturday night specials demonstrates that such “junky” handguns should be banned, once and for all. Handguns should have to meet safety and quality standards just like every other product.
LUIS TOLLEY
Western Regional Director
Handgun Control, Los Angeles