Manufacturers Must Act to Cut Gun Deaths

This has been a lousy year for gun makers. In seven incidents, rampages of kids shooting kids have seared names like Jonesboro, Ark., into our minds. A TV movie about U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy--whose candidacy was rooted in the Long Island Railroad shooting of her husband and son--riveted national attention on gun violence. This spring's "silent march" brought angry protesters to a half-dozen big gun companies from Massachusetts to Virginia as well as in San Francisco and Los Angeles. On May 30, a demonstration was held in front of Bryco Arms, a gun manufacturing firm in Costa Mesa.

The gun industry is being blamed for the deaths of nearly 50,000 children and teens in a single decade. Or at least for not doing much to prevent such tragedies.

Yet there is plenty that a responsible industry could--and should--do to save lives. An informal survey of experts in gun violence prevention has elicited dozens of suggestions.

Gun makers could set up authorized dealerships so guns sold to the black market could be traced and disreputable dealers identified by law enforcement officials. They could make firearms with indicators that show when they are loaded, like a toaster indicates when it is on.

Trigger locks could be installed so gun owners don't have a choice about using them, like car air bags in contrast to seat belts. Gun makers could back federal regulation of secondary sales, so guns don't slip into the wrong hands at gun shows, flea markets and other unregulated outlets.

And they could discontinue design elements made with criminals in mind, such as fingerprint-resistant finishes. Yet gun makers resist suggestions for changing the way they design, market and distribute their lethal products--because they don't want to be held liable.

Californians hear a great deal about the Los Angeles area "junk gun" companies, manufacturers of low-cost, low-quality guns commonly used in street crimes. Junk guns are a problem--and about 70% of the nation's junk guns are mass-produced right here in Southern California. But the lack of accountability is industrywide, extending cross-country to those Yankee companies with century-old names such as Colt, and Smith & Wesson.