Unfortunately, the White House deal was flawed from its inception. Its voluntary nature allowed the gun industry to make its own rules. The shape of the agreement was thus determined not by the public interest, but by the special interests of the gun industry.
The inevitable result was a weak deal that was doomed to failure. Among the deal's most serious flaws:
No Document: Despite repeated requests from the VPC and others, the White House never produced a written version of the agreement. In fact, beyond the statements made in the Rose Garden, no official document detailing the agreement between the Administration and the industry seems to exist. There appears to be no dotted line to sign. If so, this is a mere handshake deal, ignoring the essential Washington wisdom to get everything in writing.
No Mandate: Because participation in the agreement is voluntary, numerous firearm manufacturers have not even committed to the minimal requirements of the deal. Those that do agree to participate are free to drop out at any time without consequences.
No Participation Beyond Manufacturers: The agreement never included firearm distributors or dealers. As this survey demonstrates, these members of the firearms industry�who have the closest contact with gun purchasers�lack basic knowledge about the terms of the deal. They are certainly not supplying safety devices on most handguns. In fact, there is no requirement at all that safety devices would actually have to be passed on to consumers�even if every manufacturer supplied them.
No Monitoring: This survey is the only organized attempt to determine whether the firearms industry is complying with the agreement. Because no entity is charged with the responsibility of monitoring compliance, there is no formal means to identify companies that are not living up to their promises.
No Quality Standards: There are no standards for the type of safety device that would be provided with handguns. The Violence Policy Center has found that the majority of child safety devices available are of such shoddy quality or design that they are inadequate to prevent children or other unauthorized users from gaining access to a firearm. Even if manufacturers did provide some type of safety device, there is no way to ensure that the device itself would work. Sturm, Ruger & Company is in technical compliance with the agreement, but its plastic boxes can be cut open with a sharp instrument. One of the most popular trigger locks on the market is so fragile that it can shatter if a person steps on it. Clearly, such poor excuses for safety devices will do very little to prevent firearms injury or death.
No Enforcement: There are no sanctions imposed for failure of companies to comply. This is the most serious flaw of all, because there is very little incentive for a company to abide by the promises it has made if there are no consequences for breaking them.
