jkh@jade.UUCP (02/04/87)
A recent AP wireservice article that I found amusing because two traditionally implacable foes managed to find an area of agreement. ------------------------------------------------------------ Latest phone idea is under the gun San Dimas (AP) Gun fans and foes alike say a telephone that looks and feels like a .45-caliber Colt automatic handgun is not something people should be putting to their heads. The gun phone, displayed this month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev., has come under fire by gun-control advocates, the Colt company and the National Rifle Association. "We're seeing one child a day under the age of 14 killed by a handgun," said Susan Whitmore, spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Handgun Control Inc. "By having phone that look like handguns, you're just going to confuse children more." National Rifle Association spokesman Ted Lettanzio added that, "The person who buys them (gun phones) could become very lax in gun safety." And Bob Morris, vice president of marketing for Colt Firearms, said, "You don't place guns to your head in fun. I love guns and I'm around them every day. I use them for target and sporting practice, but I would never use one for a telephone." Despite the criticism, entrepreneurs Tom Tizzard and Frank Chen hope to market the phones by next Christmas season for $150 and $200 each. "We're catering to the man who used to have a gun in his house, but his wife won't let him have it anymore," Tizzard said. "So he brings a gun phone into the house." ------------------------------------------------------------ Next thing you know, Ray Frank and Tim Sevener will form a joint political action committee. Clayton E. Cramer