2dogs
May 9, 2003, 06:42 AM
WND seems to be trying for the FOX "fair and balanced" thing- unfortunately it gives idiot liberals like Bill Press a chance to bloviate.:barf:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32485
Congress caves in to gun manufacturers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: May 9, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2003 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Early last Oct. 22, Conrad Johnson got up early, kissed his wife Denise and two sons goodbye and went off to his job as bus driver for Montgomery County, Md., just outside of Washington, D.C. As he walked out the door, his wife called out to him her daily warning: "Be careful!"
They were the last words she spoke to him. A couple of hours later, as he prepared to pick up his first passengers for the day, Conrad Johnson was shot and killed in the doorway of his bus: the last of the Washington area sniper victims.
To the relief of Denise Johnson and relatives of other victims, sniper suspects John Mohammed and Lee Boyd Malvo are now behind bars in Virginia, both charged with serial murders and facing the death penalty. Their fate will be determined by the criminal courts.
For Mrs. Johnson, that's not enough. She has also decided to sue the gun dealer and gun manufacturer for civil damages. But she may never be able to do so – because the United States Congress, bowing to intense political pressure from the gun lobby – may prevent her from doing so.
Everybody agrees that the gun dealer, Bull's Eye Shooter Supply in Tacoma, Wash., should be held responsible. The owners of Bull's Eye admit they didn't realize the Bushmaster assault rifle used by the snipers was missing from their inventory until after police arrested the suspects and traced the gun to their store. Not only that, they can't account for over 200 other guns that somehow disappeared from their shelves.
But Bushmaster, the gun manufacturer, is also in the wrong. It certainly bears responsibility for failing to require its dealers, like Bull's Eye, to keep track of their inventory. It's also responsible for putting a killer weapon into the hands of criminals.
True, because of some modification in its manufacture, that particular gun is a legal weapon, not included on the list of assault rifles banned by Congress. And, true, it is not a defective product. No matter. It is still a weapon designed for one purpose only, to kill a lot of people in very little time, and it has no place in private hands.
"I don't understand why Bushmaster would sell this military-style assault rifle to the civilian public," Denise Johnson recently told the Washington Post. "This is not a gun for hunters or home defense. It is a gun for the military or law enforcement." Yet, as Johnson points out, Bushmaster not only markets the gun, it also sells an attachment called the "ultimate sniper grip." How handy for Mohammed and Malvo. How deadly for Conrad Johnson.
Now, I admit, whether or not Mrs. Johnson has a valid case is debatable. Personally, I think she does have a legitimate, legal beef against both dealer and manufacturer. You may disagree.
But we should all agree on this: That issue is best decided by the courts, and not by some special act of Congress. Yet that's exactly what's about to happen. Congress is poised to enact legislation, S. 659, giving gun makers immunity from all civil lawsuits, thereby unfairly stacking the deck against victims of violent crimes. "I understood when I filed the case that I was not guaranteed victory," Denise Johnson acknowledges, "but that's OK. All I wanted was my day in court. But if S. 659 passes, the courthouse door will be slammed in my face."
This is nothing but pure special-interest legislation, designed to benefit one industry only, in return for campaign cash. There is no such protection proposed for automobile manufacturers, makers of kitchen knives, baseball bats or other legal products that are potential murder weapons.
Why a free pass for gun manufacturers only? Follow the money!
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, sponsor of the gun-immunity legislation, is nothing but a public-relations front for gun makers. Over the last five years, the nation's biggest gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson and Remington, have chipped in $100 million to sponsor ads pressuring members of Congress to vote their way. Gun groups have also lined members' pockets with millions of dollars in campaign contributions.
So there you have it: the latest example of your tax dollars at work. Federal law will soon strip Denise Johnson and other gun widows from their constitutional right to sue. Because the gun lobby has bought the United States Congress – lock, stock and barrel.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32485
Congress caves in to gun manufacturers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: May 9, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2003 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Early last Oct. 22, Conrad Johnson got up early, kissed his wife Denise and two sons goodbye and went off to his job as bus driver for Montgomery County, Md., just outside of Washington, D.C. As he walked out the door, his wife called out to him her daily warning: "Be careful!"
They were the last words she spoke to him. A couple of hours later, as he prepared to pick up his first passengers for the day, Conrad Johnson was shot and killed in the doorway of his bus: the last of the Washington area sniper victims.
To the relief of Denise Johnson and relatives of other victims, sniper suspects John Mohammed and Lee Boyd Malvo are now behind bars in Virginia, both charged with serial murders and facing the death penalty. Their fate will be determined by the criminal courts.
For Mrs. Johnson, that's not enough. She has also decided to sue the gun dealer and gun manufacturer for civil damages. But she may never be able to do so – because the United States Congress, bowing to intense political pressure from the gun lobby – may prevent her from doing so.
Everybody agrees that the gun dealer, Bull's Eye Shooter Supply in Tacoma, Wash., should be held responsible. The owners of Bull's Eye admit they didn't realize the Bushmaster assault rifle used by the snipers was missing from their inventory until after police arrested the suspects and traced the gun to their store. Not only that, they can't account for over 200 other guns that somehow disappeared from their shelves.
But Bushmaster, the gun manufacturer, is also in the wrong. It certainly bears responsibility for failing to require its dealers, like Bull's Eye, to keep track of their inventory. It's also responsible for putting a killer weapon into the hands of criminals.
True, because of some modification in its manufacture, that particular gun is a legal weapon, not included on the list of assault rifles banned by Congress. And, true, it is not a defective product. No matter. It is still a weapon designed for one purpose only, to kill a lot of people in very little time, and it has no place in private hands.
"I don't understand why Bushmaster would sell this military-style assault rifle to the civilian public," Denise Johnson recently told the Washington Post. "This is not a gun for hunters or home defense. It is a gun for the military or law enforcement." Yet, as Johnson points out, Bushmaster not only markets the gun, it also sells an attachment called the "ultimate sniper grip." How handy for Mohammed and Malvo. How deadly for Conrad Johnson.
Now, I admit, whether or not Mrs. Johnson has a valid case is debatable. Personally, I think she does have a legitimate, legal beef against both dealer and manufacturer. You may disagree.
But we should all agree on this: That issue is best decided by the courts, and not by some special act of Congress. Yet that's exactly what's about to happen. Congress is poised to enact legislation, S. 659, giving gun makers immunity from all civil lawsuits, thereby unfairly stacking the deck against victims of violent crimes. "I understood when I filed the case that I was not guaranteed victory," Denise Johnson acknowledges, "but that's OK. All I wanted was my day in court. But if S. 659 passes, the courthouse door will be slammed in my face."
This is nothing but pure special-interest legislation, designed to benefit one industry only, in return for campaign cash. There is no such protection proposed for automobile manufacturers, makers of kitchen knives, baseball bats or other legal products that are potential murder weapons.
Why a free pass for gun manufacturers only? Follow the money!
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, sponsor of the gun-immunity legislation, is nothing but a public-relations front for gun makers. Over the last five years, the nation's biggest gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson and Remington, have chipped in $100 million to sponsor ads pressuring members of Congress to vote their way. Gun groups have also lined members' pockets with millions of dollars in campaign contributions.
So there you have it: the latest example of your tax dollars at work. Federal law will soon strip Denise Johnson and other gun widows from their constitutional right to sue. Because the gun lobby has bought the United States Congress – lock, stock and barrel.
