What is Smith & Wesson Thinking?
The embarrassing disclosure by James Minder, 74, chairman of the board of directors for Smith & Wesson that he was an armed robber in the 50s and 60s has the anti-gun, anti-self-defense special interest groups licking their chops. As a result of the 15 years in the Michigan prison system for a string of armed robberies he committed with a sawed-off shotgun, Minder cannot own or even handle a firearm. Yet, he was able to rise to the helm of Smith & Wesson, the nation’s second largest manufacturer of handguns in the U.S. After the devastating discovery — he said he didn’t disclose his past because “nobody asked” — he resigned as chairman. But, the board of directors, in its wisdom, allowed him to stay on Smith & Wesson’s board! Mike Barnes of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence said, “Only in the N.R.A.’s America can a company chaired by a onetime violent hoodlum be on the verge of being given a license to behave negligently.” I just have to ask company officials, what are you thi
