Gun Makers May Win Exemption From Suits

[CShine]

After years fending off lawsuits, gun manufacturers appear close to getting Congress to exempt them from suits blaming them for gun crimes and seeking millions of dollars in damages.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has 44 Republican co-sponsors for his bill to immunize gun manufacturers and distributors from lawsuits arising out of the use of guns in crimes.

And despite a threatened filibuster by some Democrats, the bill also has the support of 10 Democrats, among them Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.

``It is a misuse of the civil justice system to try to punish honest, law-abiding people for illegal acts committed by others without their knowledge or involvement,'' Daschle said two weeks ago. He began promoting the legislation after gun supporters agreed to specify that firearms manufacturers and distributors would not be protected from lawsuits involving defective products or illegal sales.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Washington/AP.V1089.AP-Gun-Lawsuits.html

[maxsolomon]

1. i'm not a lawyer

but this sucks

[slackmaster]

2. Please elaborate

What's wrong with it?

[GregW]

3. Yes, why?

Car manufacturers don't get blamed for hit-and-runs.

Baseball bat manufacturers don't get blamed for clubbings.

Machete manufacturers don't get blamed for slashings.

Pitchfork manufacturers don't get blamed for prongings.

So why should gun manufacturers get sued when someone uses a legal product as intended (albeit illegally or accidentally)?

[Redclydesider]

4. good point

never thought of it that way.

[muckadoo]

5. But those aren't manufactured to kill

Gun makes make products meant to kill, and market them to killers. They should have accountablility.

[slackmaster]

6. Have you read the bills?

IMO if you read the actual proposals you'd be better positioned to discuss this issue. It's not as simple as it looks on the surface.

I recommend that you do and specifically look for what kinds of suits they would block and more importantly what kinds of suits it would not block.

"Information on the bills, S. 659 and H.R. 1036, found on http://thomas.loc.gov"

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MrBenchley]

7. You'll also notice

all of those manufacturers appear to be able to muddle through life without this sort of blanket immunity...

But then few industries are as scummy as the gun industry...or have so much to hide.

[slackmaster]

9. Yes, because MADD doesn't try to sue GM for drunk drivers

If they did you can bet the auto industry, including used car dealers (right, MrB?) would get immunity in a heartbeat.

But that is not likely to happen. MADD lacks the deep pockets of cities and states which can raid public coffers and throw the money at ridiculous frivolous lawsuits.

[StClone]

15. There is no comparing

The Pinto was like a loaded weapon. What happened there?

I find that more an aside to think that MADD would waste it time attacking the maker of a conveyance when the problem was the drinker.

Where do you get this old logic Prune U Think Tank.

[slackmaster]

19. The Pinto was found to be DEFECTIVE in many ways

The bills in question would not inhibit suits against gun makers for guns that go off when they aren't supposed to, guns that blow up in your face, etc.

[StClone]

21. Not to be Flippant

But guns (not hunting guns) have one major flaw. Is there a reason not to want to conceed that. And anyone wanting to profit by this should shoulder the damage. Freedom Fries, too? No!

[Muddleoftheroad]

23. What flaw?

nt

[slackmaster]

26. I don't care whether or not you're flippant, but please be specific

What's the flaw?

[Redclydesider]

8. killers

So because i own a couple of guns, that makes me a killer, what about my neighbours who hunt, are they killers too.

[slackmaster]

10. No, it makes Smith & Wesson, Ruger, etc. killers

You're not responsible for what you do with your guns. The gun manufacturers are.

It is pretty absurd.

:freak:

[StClone]

18. Why did Einstein feel guilty

When his work was used to create the A-Bomb and yet a gun manufacturer has no such compunction. I think it was because he could see the connection of his research and the end results. Gun makers don't and won't hear that association.

[StClone]

17. I am not anti-gun

Just that we have got a problem.

Constitutional wording leaves some gaps and the paranoid among us see any gun law as Unconstitutional. Gun makers have a highly evolved influential lobby, the NRA and propaganda network to distort what guns can do and what effects they have on society.

They want the income from gun sales, ammo and ancillaries. They also love power and guns and do not have the capacity to comprehend life without the feeling of protection they get from sidearms.

[laconicsax]

14. Should Knife Manufacturers be responsible too?

Knife makers make products designed to stab and slice, but they aren't held accountable for stabbings.

Unless the gun maker sells their product illegally, they aren't responsible for what someone does with it.

[StClone]

20. Auto Knife thrower

Wacko Auto-Knifer (register Trade Mark) can now hurtle up to 100 knives a minute accurately 1000 yards. Outgunned now?

Knives are dangerous. Knives can kill. Now then tell me which you would rather face. You in a crowd being fired by a single person or a knife weilder?

Jack the Ripper for one used sharp things, but compared to how many "Bushnmaster types" there are. Why is that?

[saigon68]

22. ROPES ARE BAD TOO

People can hang themselves with ropes. Every child whose parent has hung themselves because they lost their job should now sue the maker of ropes. Doesn't matter whose rope it was. Also the side benefit is no more S & M bondage flicks LOL

[saigon68]

24. DON'T THROW TOOTHPICKS AROUND URINALS accountablility

Because CRABS can pole vault. You can then sue??

A. The toothpick maker.

B. The urinal maker.

C. Dude who threw the toothpick.

D. The sleezy bar owner.

E. All of the above.

F. None of the above.

G. The gun manufacturer of the pistol dude is illegally packing.

[booley]

16. Of course...

car manufacters don't use the lethality of thier product or the ease with which it can kill as a selling point. In fact, you said it yourself..."should gun manufacturers get sued when someone uses a legal product as intended"

Guns are lethal if used for the purpose they were designed for. cars, bats and pitchforks are not lethal if used for thier intended purpose.

However, although car manufacters did not force people to drive unsafely, they were held Liable to make thier products safer regardless. and cigerette manufacters were considered liable for thier product.

besides, is it just me or does anyone else think that gun manufacters are not angels sent from the Lord up above but human and therefore capable of things other billion doller indistries are capable of...like trying to increase thier profits even when it might harm the public good?

BTW- I really wish that people would stop making the stupid arguement that any gun law will lead to gun owners being labeled serial killers and put in death camps.

Laws for automobiles hasn't destroyed my ability to drive a car. Gun regulation isn' going to turn all gun owners into enemies of the state.

Sheesh.

and yes, i am ranting but people who make this kind of arguement sound so tritely paranoid and illogical that it really bugs me. next we will be hearing warnings of the coming fascism in canada and the UK becuase of thier gun laws.

[teryang]

25. Gun manufacturers are not entitled to any more

...protection than any other manufacturer of a dangerous instrumentality from suit. These suits should be governed by the laws of each state and the facts of each case. This is just another inroad into Americans right to access to the courts to redress grievances. Every corporate sector has their own version of tort reform, and wants special protection from the constitutional rights of the individual.

I support the constitutional right to bear arms.

[NNN0LHI]

11. I am all for these guys being allowed to dress casually n/t

[slackmaster]

12. At least give them Hawaiian Shirt Fridays

Aloha!