May, 2001

A couple of weeks ago, NAA began production of the highly-anticipated .380 Guardian. Several hundred pieces have been manufactured and delivered to the public at large.

People who are familiar with my Soapbox will have followed this pistol's gestation over the past year or so when we first hinted it was in development. You have begun to see a collection of posts ­ reviews - to our Message Board (link), as well as several on rec.guns (Darvell vs. Dean Speir). Fortunately, most are very flattering. As several of these early pistols have been shared with writers, we expect you will begin to see the .380 Guardian mentioned in firearms publications, also.

I hasten to call your attention to an earlier Soapbox (October, 2000) item discussing pricing and availability of our products, over which we have limited control. We have felt some pent-up demand for this product, and ask for your patience as we try to match production to meet market requirements.

Custom Shop services and pricing for this pistol will generally duplicate those already available for the .32 Guardian, as will accessories. These should be available 'soon' and will be announced on this site.

I understand we've been suffering some e-mail difficulties with our system and apologize for any apparent lack of responsiveness to your messages.

Last week, there was a significant ruling in the 'Hamilton' case. If you have not already heard this, or about this, you can expect to read about it at length in countless industry publications (check the National Shooting Sports Foundation web site for any updates). Remarkably, an appeals court determined that I (for example), as a manufacturer, am not responsible for the criminal misuse of one of my products, e.g. if one person murders another with a gun that I've made, it's not my fault. What's particularly remarkable is that a lower court had earlier ruled that it WAS my fault (awarding in fact several hundreds of thousands of dollars against the curious collection of Taurus, Beretta and American Arms, selected defendants). This decision is expected to take a large measure of the wind out of our opponents sails. Amen.

It's interesting to note that we have just filled a sizeable (several dozen) order from the Massachusetts State Police. It's unfortunate that we can't conduct business with the citizens which they serve. Until June...

Don't forget to stop by Booth 311 at the NRA Show in Kansas City May 18-20.

Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) checks out the latest edition of the North American Arms catalog. He mentioned that he regularly carries two of the firm's firearm products after receiving death threats several years ago. ASSC's 1996 Congressional Leader of the Year Award was presented to Sen. Hatch "in appreciation of his leadership and commitment in defense of our heritage, our industry and our life"


Photo & caption by Robert M. Hausman - used with permission.