Gun Violence Victims, Lawmakers Unite to Fight Legal Immunity for Gun Industry

[Drizzt]

U.S. Newswire


January 28, 2003 Tuesday 9:49 AM

SECTION: Assignment Desk

LENGTH: 259 words

HEADLINE: Gun Violence Victims, Lawmakers Unite to Fight Legal Immunity for Gun Industry

BODY:
News Advisory:

WHAT:

Press conference opposing gun lobby plan to take away the legal rights of gun violence victims. The proposed sweeping special interest protections would shield gun dealers and gun manufacturers from legal accountability even when they act negligently. WHEN:

Thursday, January 30, 2003

11:00 a.m. -- 12:00 p.m.

WHERE:

Room SC 4

United States Senate

WHO:

-- Senator Jack Reed (D-RI)
(Others To Be Announced)

-- Sarah Brady, Chair, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

-- Hilary Shelton, Washington Bureau Director, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which has a pending lawsuit against gun distributors and manufacturers

-- Steve Young, Illinois father who brought suit against gun manufacturers and dealers after they irresponsibly distributed a gun used to kill his son Andrew.

-- Tennille Jefferson, Philadelphia mother whose seven-year-old son, Nafis, was killed when another little boy played with a gun that he found in the street. The firearm did not include any childproof safety features and landed in the street through the negligence of a gun dealer who sold the gun to a gun trafficker. The mother has brought suit against the gun dealer and the manufacturer.

-- Officers Ken McGuire and David Lemongello, New Jersey police officers seriously injured with a firearm obtained by a criminal through the irresponsible actions of a West Virginia pawnshop. The officers have brought suit against the pawnshop and manufacturer.
http://www.usnewswire.com

CONTACT: Eric Howard, 202-289-5785 Blaine Rummel, 202-408-0061 ext. 118 both for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

 

[cuchulainn]

Blaine Rummel got a new job.

As of January 13, he was working for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence: http://www.gunfree.org/content/press/press_releases_gunshow_11303.html

 

[Standing Wolf]

So many assault lawyers! So few opportunities to get rich quick!

 

[Drizzt]

U.S. Newswire


January 30, 2003 Thursday

SECTION: National Desk

LENGTH: 737 words

HEADLINE: Gun Violence Victims Seek Justice;
Lawmakers, NAACP, Victims of Gun Violence Urge Congress to Protect the Legal Rights of Victims

DATELINE: WASHINGTON, Jan. 30

BODY:
Lawmakers, the NAACP, and other victims of gun violence today challenged Congress to reject special interest legislation that would deprive gun violence victims of their legal rights. The event, hosted by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), was sponsored by The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

Victims at the event have brought lawsuits seeking to hold reckless gun dealers and manufacturers accountable. Under legislation that the NRA calls its top priority, these citizens and many others would be barred from taking legal action against the gun industry--even when firearms manufacturers and dealers act negligently. Under the principles of common law, all individuals and industry groups have a duty to act responsibly. The NRA wants to exempt the gun industry from that duty. "The gun lobby wants to shut the courthouse door to victims of gun violence. Shame on any legislator who sponsors this dangerous special interest legislation," said Sarah Brady, Chair of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

"No other industry enjoys the legal protection being proposed for the gun industry. This is the last industry that should get special protection from legal accountability," said Joshua Horwitz, Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

Speaking out against the immunity legislation were:

-- Hilary Shelton, Washington Bureau Director, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP has a pending lawsuit in Brooklyn, New York against gun distributors and manufacturers.

-- Tennille Jefferson, a Philadelphia mother who lost her seven-year-old son, Nafis, when another little boy played with a gun that he found in the street. The boy was able to fire the gun because the manufacturer failed to include any childproof safety features in the gun, and the gun landed in the street through the negligence of a gun dealer who sold it to a gun trafficker. The mother has brought suit against the gun dealer and the manufacturer.

-- Steve Young from Illinois who brought suit against gun manufacturers and dealers whose irresponsible sale of a gun contributed to the shooting death of his son Andrew.

-- Orange City, New Jersey police officers David Lemongello and Kenneth McGuire who were shot and seriously wounded with a firearm obtained by a criminal through the irresponsible actions of a West Virginia pawnshop.

"I don't want another individual to go through the pain my partner and I and our families went through. Congress shouldn't let reckless dealers and manufacturers off the hook. I am calling on Congress to protect my right to seek justice," said Officer Lemongello.

Last fall, the NRA allies in the House of Representatives were set to vote on the NRA's Gun Industry Immunity Bill, then-numbered H.R. 2037. But after the sniper attacks, which terrorized Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, the House leadership cancelled a scheduled vote on the bill, acknowledging they did not want the vote to occur while the nation focused on the sniper shootings. On the Senate side, last year, the gun lobby enlisted 46 cosponsors for the Senate version, then-numbered, S.2268, but no action was taken on the legislation.

In addition to the victims at the press conference, families of sniper victims also have a pending lawsuit that would be barred by the proposed bill. Under the bill, Bull's Eye Shooter Supply in Tacoma, Washington, which says it cannot account for the Bushmaster assault rifle used in the shootings and over 230 other guns in its inventory, would be immunized from civil liability. Bushmaster Firearms would also be immunized, despite negligently selling a high-firepower assault rifle designed for combat use to Bull's Eye. Government audits of the gun store revealed hundreds of guns that are missing from Bull's Eye, yet Bushmaster recently called its dealer, "a good customer."

The Brady Campaign announced that Washington CeaseFire along with members of the Million Mom March will hold vigils for victims of the sniper attacks. The vigils will occur simultaneously in Windham, ME at 4 pm (EST) near Bushmaster's headquarters (the manufacturer of the snipers' weapon) and in Tacoma, WA at 1 pm (PST) across from Bull's Eye (the dealer that has been unable to account for the "missing" Bushmaster assault rifle used by the snipers).
http://www.usnewswire.com