Business Notes FIREARMS

In Connecticut's Gun Valley, the deal was a godsend. To preserve 1,000 local jobs, state treasurer Francisco Borges said last month that Connecticut would participate in the buyout of Colt Firearms by purchasing a 47% stake in the company for $25 million. But the state has bought into a moral dilemma. Next month Colt will begin producing the Sporter, a gun similar to the AR-15, an assault rifle the company quit producing because of its use by drug traffickers. Colt contends that the Sporter will not be fully automatic, and therefore is not an assault rifle.

Since sentiment in the state legislature is running strongly toward banning such weaponry, Borges plans to examine Colt's gun. If it is deemed an assault weapon, he plans to block its production. "I will exercise every option available as a significant shareholder," says he. "Assault rifles for civilian consumers have no place."