In the first sign of the impact of the growing number of municipal lawsuits against the gun industry, a well-known manufacturer of handguns has filed for bankruptcy protection, raising concern among city officials across the country that other firearms companies may also use bankruptcy to try to avoid the suits.
The bankruptcy filer, Davis Industries, one of a group of companies in suburban Los Angeles that are controlled by a single family and its friends, produces Saturday night specials, cheap handguns favored by criminals. Davis is one of the 10 largest makers of handguns, and studies have found that its products tend to be characterized by a short ''time to crime'' -- that is, a remarkably brief period between sale and the point at which they show up as weapons used in criminal acts.