it isn't what I remember but it's close
Smith &Wesson Guns Used Most In NY Crimes
By Tom Hays
Associated Press Writer
An analysis of handguns recovered at crime scenes throughout New York state found that Smith & Wesson Corp. had made more of the weapons than any other manufacturer, according to testimony at a gun trial in Brooklyn.
The analysis, based on previously sealed federal data from 1996 to 2000, ranked Lorcini Engineering as No. 2, followed by Bryco Arms; Sturm, Ruger & Co.; Davis Industries; Taurus International; Raven Arms; Glock Inc.; Hi-Point Firearms and Colt’s Manufacturing Co.
The study by an expert witness, Dr. Howard Andrews, of Columbia University, also singles out individual dealers and several states as major sources of thousands of guns recovered in New York state, mainly in New York City.
Ranked first among the source states was Virginia, also home to the top two dealers. Next were Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Alabama and Connecticut.
The lists emerged this week as evidence at a federal civil trial in Brooklyn at which the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has accused dozens of handgun makers and dealers of fueling street violence in minority communities in New York state through negligent marketing practices.
The plaintiffs have built their case on the four-year sampling of so-called trace data provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms under court order. The newly disclosed data detail the sales history of weapons recovered at crime scenes.
The data, the lawyers argue, help prove the gun industry knew which dealers were disreputable but still sold them weapons.
But a spokesman for the defendants, Lawrence Keane, attacked the analysis by Andrews, saying it "doesn’t hold up to scrutiny" because it fails to account for factors like sales volume.
Smith & Wesson was ranked first in crime scene guns ``because they’ve been around a long time and sold tens of millions of guns,’’ Keane, general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said last Thursday. "You can’t deduce anything from that."
The study also ignores the fact that many weapons used in crimes were stolen or were resold on the black market long after gun makers distributed them to legitimate dealers, Keane said. Some manufacturers identified as sources for crime scene guns have been bankrupt or defunct for years, he added.
The NAACP lawsuit alleges gun makers knowingly sell their products to corrupt dealers who supply criminals. It seeks to force distributors to restrict sales to dealers who have storefront outlets, prohibit sales to gun show dealers and limit individual purchasers to one handgun a month.
The defendants and industry trade groups argue that it’s unfair and unlawful to hold manufacturers liable for the criminal use of a legal product. They also say that legislatures _ not courts — should set standards for sales and that gun makers already do a good job of regulating themselves.
Andrews, who testifiedlast week, was to be cross-examined this week by gun industry lawyers.
