GUN DEAL: THERE'S NOTHING NEW FOR GUN OWNERS

A hot issue in recent days has been gun safety. There were all those heated words in the exchange between the head of the National Rifle Association and President Clinton. Then there was the much publicized agreement with the nation's largest gun manufacturer to provide trigger locks. Let's take a look at all the hoopla over trigger locks.

What is a trigger lock? There are several variations, but in general a trigger lock is a device that attaches to a gun and prevents it from being fired. Some locks also keep a gun from being loaded while the trigger lock is in place. In addition, to trigger locks, there are other devices available to keep guns from being fired by anyone who shouldn't be using a gun. For example, there are lock boxes with padlocks.

All of this is old information to most responsible gun owners in the United States. For these gun owners -- who hunt, target shoot, want to protect themselves or just like to collect guns -- safety has always been a big consideration. Hunters for years have created a big market for gun safes which not only safeguard guns, but also protect them from fires.

And all this information about trigger locks and gun safety certainly is old news to gun manufacturers. Consider these facts:

-- Smith & Wesson, the No. 1 gun manufacturer, has shipped trigger locks or cable locks with every gun sold since September 1997.

-- SigArms Corp. in Exeter, N.H., began supplying trigger locks with its guns about two years ago.

-- Connecticut-based Sturm, Ruger & Co., which bills itself as "arms makers for responsible citizens," has shipped its pistols and revolvers in lock boxes with padlocks for more than a decade.

So what, exactly, is so earth-shaking about the announcement that the lawsuits against Smith & Wesson will be dropped in exchange for the company's agreement to only sell guns with trigger locks and to make the locks an internal part of the guns within two years?

One important effect of the agreement is that the Clinton administration receives a lot of media attention for "solving" yet another national crisis. Another effect is that some $30 million in lawsuits against Smith & Wesson evaporate. And another effect is that the federal government starts buying all its guns from Smith & Wesson or any other responsible gun manufacturer that agrees to the same terms.

Given the record of responsible gun manufacturers, it doesn't look like it will be too difficult for everyone to hop on board this bandwagon.

So what has been accomplished regarding gun safety? In practical terms, very little other than raising awareness about devices that are -- and have been for some time -- available to safety conscious gun owners.

What the agreement doesn't touch, of course, is the choice of owners of guns with safety devices to either use those safety features or not. And don't forget the choice of irresponsible gun owners and criminals, who probably don't ride on very many bandwagons pulled by good intentions.