Posted by Jim on February 11, 1999 at 23:41:22:
In Reply to: Brooklyn Jury Finds Gun Makers Liable! posted by Rhino on February 11, 1999 at 17:21:16:
NRA concerned about gun suit verdict
(Last updated 11:35 PM ET February 11)
By CHRIS HAWKE
NEW YORK, Feb. 11 (UPI) A National Rifle Association
spokesman says his organization is "concerned" and
"dismayed" about a federal lawsuit filed in New York City
that found 15 gun manufacturers guilty of distributing their
product negligently.
Spokesman and CEO Wayne Lapierre, in a telephone
interview from Washington, said, "We believe this is the
beginning to accomplish by a concerted effort through the
back door to what could not be accomplished through the
legislative front door the elimination of private gun
ownership in America."
A case filed by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley last year
uses similar logic to the one decided today, and cases
under consideration in Philadelphia, New Orleans,
Baltimore and Los Angeles could be affected by the
verdict.
Lapierre says the NRA will continue to lobby state
legislatures to pass laws protecting gun makers from
being sued.
Georgia has already passed a law to prohibit such
lawsuits, and Louisiana is considering a similar measure.
Lapierre says: "What's next, blaming car manufacturers
instead of drunk drivers. What if someone commits
suicide with a pair of hedge clippers? Under this theory of
law you could eliminate virtually every manufactured
product in America."
The jury found 15 out of 25 gun makers named in the suit
sold too many weapons in states with lax gun control laws,
knowing they would be shipped in the black market to
states with tough gun laws.
Lapierre said there are big differences between the
lawsuits against gun manufacturers and the suits against
tobacco companies.
He said guns don't harm anyone if used as directed,
unlike cigarettes, which are harmful if used properly.
Secondly, he said that unlike the millions of smokers who
would like to quit, there are not large numbers of
Americans who own handguns walking around wishing
they could give up their Second Amendment rights.