Skibane
Member
In the aftermath of S.659's defeat, gun manufacturers will continue to go it alone against frivolous lawsuits.
Seems to me that we haven't been doing enough to help protect them, by establishing a robust legal defense fund. Bushmaster has (or perhaps had - couldn't find any mention of it on their current website) a small fund set up, but not for the entire gun industry. Apparently, the NRA/ILA doesn't, either (although they could probably be expected to lend a hand in certain circumstances).
The point is, frivolous lawsuits would probably quickly cease as soon as it became known that even the smallest gun manufacturer could draw upon huge amounts of cash for mounting a legal defense. Suing gun manufacturers into submission would no longer be a viable tactic for the anti-gunners. Thus, future efforts to pass legislation like S.659 would be moot points.
Many gun owners seem to be under the impression that we are already supporting the legal departments of various gun manufacturers by simply buying their products. However, folks tend to forget that most firearms are relatively low-margin items, with very little of the proceeds from a sale ending up in the company's legal department. By contrast, a contribution directly to a legal defense fund would ensure that virtually all of the money went for that purpose – and only to the gun manufacturer who actually needed it.
Why hasn't more effort been expended in this area – or am I just missing something obvious?
Seems to me that we haven't been doing enough to help protect them, by establishing a robust legal defense fund. Bushmaster has (or perhaps had - couldn't find any mention of it on their current website) a small fund set up, but not for the entire gun industry. Apparently, the NRA/ILA doesn't, either (although they could probably be expected to lend a hand in certain circumstances).
The point is, frivolous lawsuits would probably quickly cease as soon as it became known that even the smallest gun manufacturer could draw upon huge amounts of cash for mounting a legal defense. Suing gun manufacturers into submission would no longer be a viable tactic for the anti-gunners. Thus, future efforts to pass legislation like S.659 would be moot points.
Many gun owners seem to be under the impression that we are already supporting the legal departments of various gun manufacturers by simply buying their products. However, folks tend to forget that most firearms are relatively low-margin items, with very little of the proceeds from a sale ending up in the company's legal department. By contrast, a contribution directly to a legal defense fund would ensure that virtually all of the money went for that purpose – and only to the gun manufacturer who actually needed it.
Why hasn't more effort been expended in this area – or am I just missing something obvious?