Glock refuses to sign voluntary gun-control deal

Tuesday, March 21st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SMYRNA, Ga. (AP) -- Glock Inc. will not sign a voluntary gun-control agreement similar to the one reached last week between Smith & Wesson Corp. and the Clinton administration, the company said Tuesday.

The deal-breaker was the creation of an outside "oversight commission," made up of local, state and federal officials, who would supervise the gun manufacturer.

"The commission is an absurd concept," said Paul Jannuzzo, vice president and general counsel of the Smyrna-based company, a unit of Glock GmbH of Austria. "It's overly broad. It's more powerful than any regulatory agency."

Last week, Smith & Wesson, the nation's largest gun manufacturer, agreed to make its handguns more childproof by installing safety locks and developing "smart gun" technology.
Smith & Wesson also agreed to the same oversight commission that Glock opposes.

Smith & Wesson accepted the restrictions in exchange for some protection against lawsuits. At least 15 of 29 cities and counties
that had sued the gun industry have agreed to drop Smith & Wesson from their lawsuits.

Any changes at Glock, however, will not be made with an eye toward avoiding lawsuits, Jannuzzo said.

"Nobody's going to drop any of these lawsuits unless we sign on to the commission," Jannuzzo said. "And we will never do that."

Instead of adopting the entire agreement, Glock will consider "sensible and workable" parts of the plan, Jannuzzo said.

Such elements might include keeping an electronic record of sales and requiring employees to pass a written exam. Those steps
go beyond current federal law.