cuchulainn
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from the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/08/o...00&en=7eccf472e29b352f&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/08/o...00&en=7eccf472e29b352f&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
Shutting Down the 'Iron Pipeline'
In a Brooklyn courtroom last month, a Columbia University professor delivered a lesson in why existing gun laws do not work. The professor, Dr. Howard Andrews, testified that 90 percent of the guns recovered in New York crime investigations from 1996 to 2000 had been bought out of state. A large number came from five states with lax gun laws: Virginia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The suit in which Dr. Andrews testified, in which a ruling is expected shortly, charges gun manufacturers and dealers with doing too little to stop illegal handgun sales. His data give the fullest picture yet of the "iron pipeline," in which guns are transported from Southern states. The iron pipeline is one of the biggest factors in thwarting New York in its efforts to keep guns off the streets and out of the hands of criminals. There are ways to stop the flow.
Perhaps the most effective tool is a "one gun per month" law, which bars anyone from buying more than one handgun in a month. These laws stop gunrunners from buying in volume, a limit that reduces their profits substantially. Four states have enacted such laws, including Virginia and South Carolina. The remaining states should do the same, and Congress should pass a federal law.
Another important part of the solution is litigation like the Brooklyn lawsuit. That suit, filed by the N.A.A.C.P. on behalf of victims of gun violence, charges that gun manufacturers and dealers are responsible for the iron pipeline because of the reckless way they market their wares. Rather than seeking monetary damages, the N.A.A.C.P. wants a court order directing the gun industry to sell more responsibly.
The suit asks that gun dealers impose "one gun per month" rules themselves, and that they clamp down on other common sources of black market guns, like gun shows. [Reality and truth? We don't need no steenkin' reality and truth in the New York Times!]
The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would give the gun industry blanket immunity from most lawsuits — including the one in Brooklyn. One of the bill's sponsors said its purpose was to put a stop to "nuisance lawsuits." But as long as Congress is unwilling to stop the flow of illegal guns, suits like the one wrapping up in Brooklyn now are not a nuisance — they are necessary.
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
