Why Colt Can't Shoot Straight

[John H]

is

Complicating matters, Colt then blundered into the vortex of American gun-control politics. In a December 1997 editorial in American Firearms Industry magazine, Zilkha's handpicked CEO, Ron Stewart, made a pair of proposals that set off alarms in Second Amendment circles. He urged "the creation of a research and development program to further firearm technology toward more advanced methods that promote safety (such as personalized firearms)." And he recommended that Congress require gun owners to obtain a federal permit. "All hell broke loose," says Feldman.

If this the way Colt was then I say let them die.

Zilkha relieved Stewart of his CEO duties in late 1998; by the following year the Colt smart gun was dead. In 1999, Zilkha named a new CEO, William Keys, a retired three-star Marine Corps general. The company announced it would end production of all but a handful of civilian handguns and focus on military production. As a reporter at the Wall Street Journal during this period, I interviewed a memorably glum Zilkha. He complained that on top of his other problems, he felt unfairly targeted by gun rights activists who criticized his past contributions to Democratic New York Senator Charles Schumer, a vocal proponent of stricter gun control. When I suggested to Zilkha that he seemed to regret ever having entered the gun business, he didn't argue.

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[rick benjamin]

There is so much more behind the businessweek story.
Skullduggery, sleigh of hand, backstabbing, politislime, and more.

I think Colt is doing as best it can. I hope for the best for Colt.