Smith and Wesson Cuts Deal With Clinton Administration

The old peacemaker of the West, the Smith and Wesson, is a tough sell at this weekend's gun show in Tulsa. The company is the first gun maker to tighten the rules it places on buyers and sellers.

Monday, April 3rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The old peacemaker of the West, the Smith and Wesson, is a tough sell at this weekend's gun show in Tulsa. The company is the first gun maker to tighten the rules it places on buyers and sellers. Many longtime Smith and Wesson fans believe the company caved in.

Jim Supica, owns several pieces of American history.

"The Smith and Wesson was used by a number of famous people in the west. Buffalo Bill Cody, Theodore Roosevelt, Annie Oakley," says Supica.

Supica is such a fan he wrote a book about Smith and Wesson, and even owns the gun on the cover, a pistol made specially for President Roosevelt.

"He was my boyhood hero," says Supica.

The Clinton Administration is also calling Smith and Wesson a hero. Last month, the gunmaker made a deal with the government. Lawsuits will be dropped in return, more gun control.

"This agreement is a major victory for American families. It says that gunmakers can and will share in the responsibility to keep their products out of the wrong hands," says Clinton.

Smith and Wessons decision includes gun locks on all its guns, waiting periods for people buying more than one gun, background checks at all gun shows and the development of guns that can be fired by only the owner.

"I think it heads towards a serious infringement of the peoples' rights to own firearms for self-defense," says Supica. "What we need is education."

Retired school teacher, Patsie Van Denhende uses Eddie Eagle to teach kids about finding an adult when they find a weapon. She says she's finding a new type of gun.

"I have a Smith and Wesson, but I probably won't have any more," says Van Denhende. "I'm disappointed."

But Jim Supica says there is too much history for him to change his allegiance.