"Senate Debates Amendments to Sue Gunmakers"

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate is considering whether a bill designed to shield the firearms industry from most lawsuits that result from gun crimes should give children and police the right to sue.

Supporters say the shielding legislation, sponsored by Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and backed by the National Rifle Association, is necessary to protect the gun industry from massive, court-ordered damages that could bankrupt it.

Opponents of Craig's bill say no industry should have that kind of legal protection, least of all one that makes and distributes weapons.

Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., agreed late Thursday to allow debate on amendments to the measure Friday. One, sponsored by Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., would make police officers exceptions to the bill's restrictions, allowing them to sue. Another, sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., would do the same for children.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20050729/D8BKV1PGH.html

I watched Ted Kennedy just rip apart the Senate leadership over this bill yesterday. And Barbara Boxer was livid with Frist for bumping this up to the front of the schedule.

Unless of course the gun blows up in your hand or in malfunctions in some similar way. You should not be able to sue over a product that works as it should. If you want to stop proliferation of guns, make them illegal. This backdoor crap that politicians and activists often do is not right.

Let's start by pointing out that "gun manufacturers" includes such "scrupulously honest" folk as neoNazi Gaston Glock and convicted tax cheat Sun Myung Moon, or the recently demoted chairman of Smith & Wesson, a convicted stick-up artist (don't worry, he's still onthe board of directors).

"You should not be able to sue over a product that works as it should."
So if the baby seat holds the baby, who cares if bits of it come off easily and choke the baby? Ri-i-i-i-i-ight.

"This backdoor crap that politicians and activists often do is not right."
So pissing away every American's right to their day in court is right, but actually using existing liability laws is wrong? Weird.

That's why they put aside the bill to pay the military's operating budget to vote on this.

Generally, I don't agree with gun control, but Congress and the NRA are 100% dead wrong on this.

1. States should regulate their own tort systems. When a company does business in a state and avails itself to the protection of its laws, it properly subjects itself to that state's tort laws. The 7th Amendment guarantees a right to jury trials in personal injury cases and this Federal preemption infringes on that right.

2. Market share liability is a legitimate tort theory. It has nothing to do with wrong-doing or fault. The idea is that if a company makes money on a product, that company should bear the cost of foreseeable injuries caused by that product as part of the cost of doing business. The alternative is to make the injured party bear the cost. Again, this has nothing to do with any wrong-doing on the part of the company. If auto makers know that 40 thousand people will be killed on the roads in this country next year as a result of their product; is that not part of the cost of doing business? Even if the automakers do nothing wrong, negligent or whatever, they are making a profit while society and individual accident victims bear this particular costs. I don't believe the Feds should foreclose this avenue of relief for injury victims.

3. On other more conventional tort theories, the case against gun makes is pretty weak. Under strict tort for an unreasonably dangerous product, unreasonably dangerous is usually defined as being more dangerous than an ordinary user would suppose it to be. Since everyone knows that guns can kill, that is a hard argument to make. They are probably not negligent if they are following industry standards and only the buyer can claim breach of warranty.

that if his "Get Away With Murder" bill didn't pass, "American manufacturers" like Beretta might take their jobs overseas endangering the military. (to some place like Italy, no doubt).

So to sum up GOP nuttiness, actually getting the troops armor, bad...supporting the Beltway sniper, good.

By the way, call your Senators and urge them to block this bill...if it fails it will mean Fristy has been a complete failure as Senate Majority Leader.

Not that that changes the argument at all. When I go the shooting range I see these guys spending an hour or two shooting bullets that cost 30 to 60 cents EACH. I don't see how an insurance policy for the very few successful lawsuits will bankrupt companies like Beretta, S&W, Ruger, Winchester or Springfield. It may force out marginal companies like Hi-Point that sell cheap crap and are a favorite of drug runners, but not the respectable firms.

As yet another side note, a majority if not most of these "legacy" U.S. gun makers are in blue states. My aunt works for Savage in MA. S&W (which now includes Walther) is also from MA. Colt, Ruger and Winchesters are made in CT. Springfield is made in IL. Bushmaster: ME.

"Frist Breaks With Bush on Stem-Cell Bill"

and

"IRA lays down its guns "

Just a thought...if Frist is going to get anything done as Senate Majority Leader before Fall, he has to do it TODAY. Does theshift to stem cells mean he doesn't think he's got the votes to ram this bit of idiocy through in time...and that he's trying to find a more centrist bill to push so that he can point to at least one accomplishment?

Remember, there are rumblings from the GOP (mostly led by Trent Lott) that the Medicare thief ought to be replaced after the Terry Schiavo fiasco he helped lead them into...

No industry should be protected this way. Not the fast food industry, not guns, not playpen manufacturers. Lawsuits should be judged on their own merits or lack thereof.

Want to stop lawsuits? Stop causing injuries. Truly frivolous suits are weeded out during the pleading phase before much expense occurs. Suits that result in damage awards are by definition not frivolous.

uh wait a minute this is not for me, this is for the gun companies. WTF are these guys doing? When was the last time they made a decent freaking law in this country?

1993

to protect people like Sun Myung Moon from getting sued....all in the name of "freedom"...