Company Facts:

American Arms manufactures and imports firearms, including: standard shotguns and pistols; muzzleloading rifles; replica single-action and black powder revolvers; and, at one time, an assault pistol and two assault shotguns. Assault firearms imported by the company in the past as part of its "Security Series" included the SPAS-12 shotgun, LAW-12 shotgun, and SPECTRE pistol. Importation eventually ceased as the result of application of the federal Gun Control Act's "sporting purposes" test to the weapons by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The catalog copy for the weapons noted that the guns were "adaptable to a wide range of uses from the obvious of law enforcement and personal defense to the not so obvious of competitive shooting matches. These firearms, while very fearsome and aggressive in appearance, function like any other self-loading or pump action firearm. Comparing the...Security Series firearms to their military counterparts is like comparing a NASCAR race car to your personal automobile�they may look the same but that is where the similarity ends. The true advantage...is their proven reliability, durability and functional performance....When you do not have a second chance, you must rely on and demand proven performance and unquestionable reliability."

In 1991, the company issued a recall of SPAS-12, SAS-12, and LAW-12 shotguns because the guns present a risk of accidental discharge.

Since 1995 American Arms has manufactured its Escort .380 pistol, billed as "[t]he ideal 'escort' in every sense of the word." To demonstrate the compact size of the Escort pistol, the 1997 catalog features a front shot of the handgun next to a cigarette.