NewsMax.com Wires
Thursday, Feb. 8, 2001

Because of its findings, the Consumer Product Safety Commission planned Wednesday to urge the gun-lock industry to develop safety standards to make sure locks are tested before they are sold.

"There are 12 safety standards for every toy, but there is not one safety standard for a gun lock, even though people are depending on these to keep their kids away from guns," CPSC Chairwoman Ann Brown told the Post. She called the agency's findings "frightening."

"We found you could open locks with paper clips, a pair of scissors or tweezers, or you could whack them on the table and they would open," she said.

"If I can do that, any 5-year-old can."

The CPSC, by law, is barred from regulating guns, but because gun locks are considered an accessory, officials believe they can regulate them for any safety defects.

The agency tested 32 different gun locks in its laboratory in Gaithersburg, Md. Officials said they believe the sample was a good representation of the locks on the market.

Jeff Reh, general counsel for Beretta USA, who heads an industry committee on lock standards, said the industry is concerned that some standards could "end up being a de facto ban on gun sales."

Reh added that "if a new gun cannot be sold without a lock and then the standard that is set for that lock is so rigid no lock can apply, it's a back-door route to gun control."

Earlier this week, after a workplace shooting that killed four in Chicago, President Bush's spokesman reiterated the administration's support for a five-year, $75 million-a-year federal program to distribute "free" gun locks to every gun owner.

Copyright 2001 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

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