To: Doug R who wrote (29739 ) 5/20/1999 9:30:00 AM From: judge Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 79270
where do yo get your info .. read this news release from yesterday MIAMI (Reuters) - Shares of Saf T Loc Inc., a maker of combination locks for firearms, surged on Wednesday after the U.S. Senate voted to require trigger locks or safe storage devices for handguns. Trading in the small-capitalization stock was furious, with 8 million shares -- or more than six times average daily turnover -- changing hands by mid-afternoon. Saf T Loc was among the most heavily traded stocks on the Nasdaq. Safe T Loc (LOCK) shares rocketed nearly 50 percent to 4-1/2, before falling back in midafternoon to 3-13/16, a gain of 3/4 or about 25 percent. "It's because of the Senate vote. We have the only lock of this type that is integrated into the firearm," said Jacquie Cofer, spokeswoman for the West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Saf T Loc. The company's products are electronics-free mechanical tumbler locks and are built into firearms. By a vote of 78-20, the Senate on Tuesday voted to require that trigger locks or safe storage devices be sold with all handguns as a way of curbing access to firearms by teenagers. President Clinton praised the measure, which is part of a teen-crime bill. Americans now own about 60 million handguns, and about 2 million to 3 million new and used handguns are sold each year, according to Senate staff. Cofer said that Saf T Loc had done little consumer marketing of its devices because of an early 1998 deal giving retail rights to another company, United Safety Action Inc. The company reported a loss of $6.1 million, or 48 cents per share, in 1998 on sales of $1.65 million. Now, Saf T Loc expects to win back retail rights "in the near future" and the company will ramp up adverting and marketing to individuals, Cofer said. In recent months, the company has announced a series of bulk sales of locks to police departments in California, Florida, Colorado, Massachusetts and elsewhere. Shares of Saf T Loc, whose founder Frank Brooks is expected be a star witness in anti-gun industry lawsuits due for trial in coming years, also rose sharply in April after high-school shootings in Colorado left 15 people dead. The high school shootings touched off fresh demands for gun control measures in the United States. home | companies | hot stories | contents | search | stock quotes | help Copyright 1999 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Copyright © 1999 CNN America, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.