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WASHINGTON -- Dell Computers is under fire from gun aficionados after it refused to sell a laptop to a handgun maker.
The flap began when Jack Weigand, the president of the American Pistolsmiths Guild, ordered a Dell Inspiron 4100 notebook on Feb. 13, with a promised delivery date of Feb. 21. When the date came and went, Weigand phoned Dell to find out what the problem was.
What he eventually learned astounded him: Weigand would not be shipped his PC because of the name of his business, Weigand Combat Handguns, which is located in Mountaintop, Pennsylvania. Dubbed a "Renaissance gunsmith" by American Handgunner, Weigand is known for crafting high-quality, custom revolvers.
It turns out that a manager in Dell's (DELL) export compliance department flagged the shipment as a purchase that was prohibited under U.S. law. Weigand was told that his order had been canceled because, in these post-Sept. 11 days, the name of his company sounded a bit too terroristic for comfort's sake.
Weigand wrote a brief description of his unsuccessful attempt to buy that Inspiron 4100 on his website -- and within hours, his note began to ricochet around the Internet communities of firearms enthusiasts and Second Amendment devotees.
"I've gotten hundreds of e-mails," Weigand said Wednesday. "I answered them until 1 o'clock this morning and I started again at 7 this morning. As fast as I answer the e-mail, they come in again."
"I didn't think this would happen. Not in my wildest imagination did I think this would mushroom like it did," Weigand said.
In an interview on Wednesday, a Dell representative acknowledged there was no reason why Weigland should have been denied his Inspiron 4100.
"There was an unfortunate series of events," said Dell spokeswoman Cathie Hargett. "We should have, when the name of his company triggered a red flag, followed up with him immediately to ensure that his order was not in violation of U.S. export rules. Knowing what we know about him now, we know that is not the case."
Hargett said Dell was revising its internal procedures to prevent such snafus in the future.
Hargett said it was Dell's "mistake" and added that it grew out of Dell's attempts to comply with U.S. export regulations. "Export laws apply domestically. These laws apply domestically if it's for any of these stated purposes," Hargett said.
But she was not able to provide a reference to Commerce Department Bureau of Export Administration or State Department Office of Defense Trade Controls regulations that require approval of shipments to U.S. customers. Dell's export forms apply only to out-of-country shipments.
Larry Pratt, the president of Gun Owners of America, said Dell's nervousness is part of a growing trend that treats gun owners as second-class citizens.
"You take that 10 years from now, where people have been subjected to this kind of brainwashing," Pratt said.
Dell wanted to send Weigand a free Inspiron 4100 -- which starts at $1,100 -- as compensation for his troubles. But Weigand won't take it, saying that people might think he caused a fuss just to save some cash.
"They offered the free machine and I declined," he said.
