Bill Would Curb Agenda-Driven Lawsuits Against Gun IndustryBy Susan Jones
(CNSNews.com) - A House Judiciary Committee subcommittee holds a hearing Tuesday on a bill that would shield gun manufacturers from civil lawsuits stemming from the misuse of their products by others.
That hearing has mobilized anti-gun groups, which plan to hold rallies in 16 cities on Tuesday.
The National Rifle Association and other supporters of the legislation (H.R. 800/S. 397) call it a "reckless lawsuit preemption bill." They say the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act" will prevent anti-gun groups from accomplishing their goal of suing the gun industry into bankruptcy, based on the unforeseen acts of criminals.
But the Brady Campaign to Prevent Handgun Violence says the legislation "would grant unprecedented immunity" to all gun dealers and manufacturers, even in cases of "obvious negligence."
The Brady Campaign's Dennis Henigan says instead of protecting "the most reckless gun sellers in America," Congress should be doing something to "stop terrorist suspects from buying guns."
The Brady Campaign specifically wants Congress to hold hearings on a bill that would "strengthen the Brady background check system."
Henigan is among those testifying at Tuesday's hearing.
Also on Tuesday, members of the Million Mom March will join local gun control activists in 16 cities, where they will "ring bells 82 times in remembrance of the number of people killed every day in this country by gun violence and in an effort to convince Congress to reject the legislation that would deprive gun victims of their legal rights."
Marsha McCartney, president of the Texas Million Mom March Chapters, calls the legislation an insult to victims of gun violence and their families. She said Congress should "stand with gun victims" by rejecting the "special interest giveaway."
Likewise, the Massachusetts Million Mom March chapter is holding a Tuesday morning press conference in Boston, where lawmakers, police officials, and activists will condemn "weapons with excessive firepower."
The group says "concealable 'cop killer' handguns that can penetrate body armor and .50-caliber sniper rifles that can shoot down commercial airplanes are now being sold on the open market and are easily accessible to criminals and terrorists."
Anti-gun activists point to a recent government report showing that some of the people on a terrorist watch list were able to buy guns (because they had no criminal record and were not otherwise disqualified).
In a press release, the Massachusetts Million Mom March even described people on the watch list as terrorists: "A new report by the Government Accountability Office shows that 47 out of 58 terrorists on an FBI watch list who applied to purchase guns last year were granted approval by the federal government," the group noted.
Having your name on a watch list does not make you a terrorist, Second Amendment groups argue.
Nevertheless, the Brady Campaign describes the sale of guns to people on a watch list as a "loophole" that must be closed.
http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200503\NAT20050315a.html.
