http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=2538897
House Passes Gun Lawsuit Immunity Bill
Wed April 9, 2003 06:28 PM ET
By Joanne Kenen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill giving gun manufacturers and dealers broad protection from civil lawsuits arising from the misuse of firearms easily passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The vote was 285-140, with almost all Republicans backing the bill and Democrats divided.
Backers of the bill, a priority of the National Rifle Association, say gun control groups have been using courts to try to carry out an anti-gun agenda they have not been able to achieve legislatively. They say "nuisance" suits are also designed to force gun makers into bankruptcy.
"We shouldn't use the judicial process to bankrupt an industry that makes a legal product," said James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He accused gun control groups of using the courts as a "back door" to promote a political agenda.
The White House issued a statement strongly supporting the bill, saying it would "help prevent abuse of the legal system and help curb the growing problem of frivolous lawsuits."
Gun control advocates strenuously oppose the bill, saying it would let unscrupulous or shoddy gun dealers off the hook and leave injured people without redress. It would block many future suits against makers, distributors and trade groups, and dismiss some 300 pending state and federal lawsuits.
Critics of the bill said cases that would be dismissed included those filed by injured police officers and people whose relatives were killed by gun violence. It would also stop suits filed by municipal governments and groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Some of those 30-odd cases have been dismissed by courts but others are pending.
ON TO SENATE
The bill now goes to the Senate. Slightly more than half the senators have signed on as co-sponsors, but no action has been scheduled and gun control groups hope to slow it down there. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said it would unveil on Thursday internal industry documents showing how some gun makers and dealers "knowingly supply guns to criminals."
Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers said the bill was so broadly drafted it would even block lawsuits arising from accidents "that could have been prevented if manufacturers had adopted reasonable safety features." He said it sent the wrong message to the gun industry "at a time when our cities and communities are plagued with random acts of gun violence."
The Brady Campaign said the suit filed by families harmed in the Washington-area sniper case was among those that would be blocked. The families have sued the "Bull's Eye" gun dealer that sold the high-powered Bushmaster XM-15 E2S to the alleged snipers, alleging it ran its business so negligently that more than 200 guns "disappeared" or could not be accounted for.
Opponents of the bill tried to narrow its reach through several amendments, including one that would limit the legal protections to gun makers but not gun dealers. All those amendments failed.
House Passes Gun Lawsuit Immunity Bill
Wed April 9, 2003 06:28 PM ET
By Joanne Kenen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill giving gun manufacturers and dealers broad protection from civil lawsuits arising from the misuse of firearms easily passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The vote was 285-140, with almost all Republicans backing the bill and Democrats divided.
Backers of the bill, a priority of the National Rifle Association, say gun control groups have been using courts to try to carry out an anti-gun agenda they have not been able to achieve legislatively. They say "nuisance" suits are also designed to force gun makers into bankruptcy.
"We shouldn't use the judicial process to bankrupt an industry that makes a legal product," said James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He accused gun control groups of using the courts as a "back door" to promote a political agenda.
The White House issued a statement strongly supporting the bill, saying it would "help prevent abuse of the legal system and help curb the growing problem of frivolous lawsuits."
Gun control advocates strenuously oppose the bill, saying it would let unscrupulous or shoddy gun dealers off the hook and leave injured people without redress. It would block many future suits against makers, distributors and trade groups, and dismiss some 300 pending state and federal lawsuits.
Critics of the bill said cases that would be dismissed included those filed by injured police officers and people whose relatives were killed by gun violence. It would also stop suits filed by municipal governments and groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Some of those 30-odd cases have been dismissed by courts but others are pending.
ON TO SENATE
The bill now goes to the Senate. Slightly more than half the senators have signed on as co-sponsors, but no action has been scheduled and gun control groups hope to slow it down there. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said it would unveil on Thursday internal industry documents showing how some gun makers and dealers "knowingly supply guns to criminals."
Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers said the bill was so broadly drafted it would even block lawsuits arising from accidents "that could have been prevented if manufacturers had adopted reasonable safety features." He said it sent the wrong message to the gun industry "at a time when our cities and communities are plagued with random acts of gun violence."
The Brady Campaign said the suit filed by families harmed in the Washington-area sniper case was among those that would be blocked. The families have sued the "Bull's Eye" gun dealer that sold the high-powered Bushmaster XM-15 E2S to the alleged snipers, alleging it ran its business so negligently that more than 200 guns "disappeared" or could not be accounted for.
Opponents of the bill tried to narrow its reach through several amendments, including one that would limit the legal protections to gun makers but not gun dealers. All those amendments failed.
