1950s Röhm Gesellschaft founded
1970 RG Industries founded
Miami, Florida
- Rohm Gmbh in West Germany
– cheaply made and finished
– loosely based on the S&W - 1970 RG Industries founded
– 80 workers - 2012 sold an estimated $3.1 million worth of handguns
– 15,000 – 20,000 each month
– RG14 retailed for $47.50 - Imported Rohm = Saturday Night Specials
USA made RG Industries = just an inexpensive revolver (not Saturday Night Specials) - March 30, 1981, United States President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. with RG14
– Police Officer Thomas Delahanty was shot by John Hinckley, Jr
– Delahanty sued Röhm = suit was rejected - 2010 sold to Umarex
RG Industries
2485 Northwest 20th St
Miami, Florida
About RG Industries
RG Industries was the Miami, Florida, manufacturing arm of Röhm Gesellschaft, a West German company that began making blank guns, flare guns, starting pistols and handguns in the early 1950s. When the Gun Control Act of 1968 limited imports of small, inexpensive handguns, Röhm responded by setting up U.S. production in Miami in the 1970s under the RG Industries name, building low-cost revolvers and pistols for the American market.
RG Industries is best remembered for a single tragic event: on March 30, 1981, John Hinckley Jr. used an RG-14 .22 revolver in the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan, wounding the president, press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and police officer Thomas Delahanty. The shooting fueled campaigns against so-called Saturday night specials and a wave of lawsuits seeking to hold makers of inexpensive handguns liable for criminal misuse. In 1989 the D.C. Court of Appeals rejected Delahanty’s suit against Röhm, an outcome often cited in later debates over manufacturer liability. The Miami factory closed in 1986, and in 2010 Röhm sold its firearms business and the RG brand to Umarex of Germany.
Key Facts
- Early 1950s: Röhm began producing blank guns, starting pistols and handguns in West Germany
- 1968: Gun Control Act restricted imports of inexpensive handguns
- March 30, 1981: An RG-14 revolver was used in the attempted assassination of President Reagan
- 1986: The Miami factory ceased operations
- 1989: D.C. Court of Appeals rejected Delahanty v. Hinckley claims against Röhm
- 2010: Röhm’s firearms business and the RG brand acquired by Umarex
Sources
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