The gun industry has no oversight? Really? It polices itself? Does that seem like a good idea?

CNBC has an article about problems at the Remington Firearms Company. It seems that their signature weapon, the model 700 bolt action rifle may have a defect that the company has known about for 60 years.

A 10-month investigation by CNBC has found that at least two dozen deaths and more than 100 injuries have been linked to the signature product of an iconic American company.

The Remington Model 700-series rifle - with more than 5 million sold - is one of the world’s most popular firearms. Famous for its accuracy, the rifle is now the target of a series of lawsuits claiming that it is unsafe and susceptible to firing without pulling the trigger.

Of course they claim that there's nothing wrong. Few companies will admit to a design flaw in a product. That's not unusual. But over 60 years, there's bound to be a paper trail and the stunning part is what it would have cost Remington to fix the flaw-that-doesn't-exist-but-has-been-alleged-for-decades.

The documents reveal that on at least two occasions, the company considered – and then decided against – a modification of the original trigger design intended to eliminate inadvertent discharges. One of those proposed fixes would have cost Remington 5.5 cents per gun, according to the company’s own calculations.

5.5 cents. They declined to spend less than 6 cents per rifle to ensure that their weapons would be safe. 5.5 cents was too much to protect lives.

So the government will step in, right? Right?

Wrong.

(F)rom the very beginning, the company looked at ways to fix its bolt-action rifle, even contemplating a nationwide recall. But on more than one occasion, Remington decided against a recall.

And it turns out that decision is Remington's, and Remington's alone.

For most products – cars, toys, food, even BB guns - the government can order a recall. In 2010, for example, the Eagle 5 Rifle crossbow made by Master Cutlery was recalled after regulators found it could fire, without pulling the trigger, when the safety is switched off.

But the Consumer Product Safety Commission cannot recall guns. Nor can the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms or the Justice Department.

Guns hold a special place in American life - and American law, says Dallas attorney Jeffrey Hightower.

“Remington polices itself,” he said. “The gun industry polices itself.”

A federal law, passed in 1976 and upheld repeatedly in court, specifically bars the government from setting safety standards for guns, because of the Second Amendment.

While some estimates now say that the cost is as much as $100 per rifle, I'd be interested in seeing the new calculation. Even accounting for super inflation, 5.5 cents in 1960 isn't $100 now.

This is a wonderful repudiation of the Tea Party and their 'get the government off my back' mentality. This is why the Tea Party is wrong when it claims that regulations aren't necessary. This is a perfect example of an unregulated company doing exactly the wrong thing - or more correctly, behaving like a business.

There's nothing wrong with a business behaving like a business, but let's not pretend that business interests always coincide with public interests. They don't.