Tense agreement problem?

[HaraKiriBlade]

That means if anyone, be that a serial killer who intends to snipe random people on the street or a 14-year-old kid who wants revenge on his bully classmate, wanted to buy a gun, the supply is ample. Not only does the industry turn a blind eye on its distribution system, some of it shamelessly aims for the criminal market by advertising features in their products that are specifically appealing to criminals. A feature one manufacturer emphasized was that its gun has “an excellent resistance to fingerprints.” (qtd. in Sibel, 416)

Should I keep the tense consistent where boldened? I'd rather keep it if possible, because the gun still exists and it still is fingerprint-resistant, but the fact that the gun manufacturer mentioned posted such ad has already happened, and thus a thing of the past.

And if there are any other problems, could you revise it? thank you very much!

[riverkid]

Originally Posted by HaraKiriBlade

Should I keep the tense consistent where boldened? I'd rather keep it if possible, because the gun still exists and it still is fingerprint-resistant, but the fact that the gun manufacturer mentioned posted such ad has already happened, and thus a thing of the past.
And if there are any other problems, could you revise it? thank you very much!

Using 'has' is fine, HKB and maybe the more natural. We choose tense for meaning or effect, not simply to be consistent.

[curmudgeon]

That means if anyone, be they a serial killer who intends to snipe random people on the street, or a 14-year-old kid who wants revenge on his bullying classmate, wants to buy a gun, the supply is ample. Not only does the industry turn a blind eye on its distribution system, some of it shamelessly aims for the criminal market by advertising features in their products that are specifically appealing to criminals. A feature one manufacturer emphasized was that its gun "has an excellent resistance to fingerprints.” (qtd. in Sibel, 416)


include 'has' in the quotation