Mike Irwin
Member
From the Washington (Com)Post today...
Former Montgomery County police chief Charles A. Moose and relatives of Washington area sniper victims helped a team of seasoned gun-control advocates launch a lobbying campaign yesterday on Capitol Hill to defeat a bill that would help shield the firearms industry from lawsuits.
Moose and the victims' relatives, along with Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), said they are taking their strong emotions about the October sniper shootings and investing them in the pitched political battle unfolding over gun liability legislation.
"My brother is gone, and there's nothing I can do about that," said Victoria Snider, whose brother, James L. "Sonny" Buchanan Jr., was slain Oct. 3 as he mowed a lawn in White Flint. "But I am asking Congress, 'Please do not take away my rights.' "
The liability legislation, which would protect the gun industry from ongoing and future lawsuits, recently passed the House and is pending in the Senate, where 54 members have voiced support.
The firearms industry calls the legislation a prudent way to prevent manufacturers from being sued each time a criminal uses one of their weapons. Some gunmakers and distributors, facing numerous lawsuits nationally from victims and gun control groups, say jury verdicts and legal expenses could cost them hundreds of millions of dollars if they persist.
Opponents of the measure say it would put gunmakers and dealers in the unique position of being able to operate without fear of lawsuits and eliminate a motive to make weapons safer.
If the bill passes, sniper victims and their families said yesterday that one lawsuit derailed will be their own. Several victims' relatives are suing Bushmaster Firearms Inc., the Maine-based manufacturer of the XM-15 rifle used in the sniper attacks, and Bull's Eye Shooter Supply, the Tacoma, Wash., gun shop where the suspects allegedly got the rifle.
"If Congress passes this bill, I will never have the chance to make my case to a jury," said Rupinder Oberoi, who was shot and wounded in September, allegedly by the snipers, while locking up the Silver Spring beer-and-wine shop where he worked.
James Ballenger III, whose wife was shot to death outside a Baton Rouge, La., beauty store, also allegedly by the one of the sniper suspects, said passage of the measure would be a travesty. "My wife was killed for nothing. My children have to suffer without their mother," Ballenger said. "I want the people of the Senate to know that these people need to be responsible for what they sell."
Such emotional appeals are likely to play a significant role in a national movement, being launched by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, to defeat the bill. Michael Barnes, president of the gun control group, said that while the firearms industry can spend millions to lobby its cause, his group's strength is in the stories of gun victims. The campaign, he said, will include rallies and events across the country, with an emphasis on states that are home to undecided senators.
Lawmakers have credited the measure's unexpected success to the growing political clout of the National Rifle Association and the country's gun advocates.
Some members of Congress have said privately that they believe they need to vote yes on the measure to keep the gun industry from organizing voter revolts in their home districts.
Whether the emotional appeals by victims will help counter that political strength is unclear. Jim Purtilo, who edits a newsletter for gun enthusiasts in Maryland, said he is not intimidated by the effort. "The proponents of stronger restrictions are always willing to wave the bloody shirt," he said. "It's a sign of how weak their intellectual arguments are."
Moose, who recently left the Montgomery police department to finish writing a book about the sniper shootings, said the stories recounted by victims of gun violence at yesterday's news conference should provide a powerful reminder to the senators.
"I hope the people of the Senate understand that these are real people, real Americans," Moose said. "If you're going to pass laws that affect them, please listen to what they have to say."
Former Montgomery County police chief Charles A. Moose and relatives of Washington area sniper victims helped a team of seasoned gun-control advocates launch a lobbying campaign yesterday on Capitol Hill to defeat a bill that would help shield the firearms industry from lawsuits.
Moose and the victims' relatives, along with Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), said they are taking their strong emotions about the October sniper shootings and investing them in the pitched political battle unfolding over gun liability legislation.
"My brother is gone, and there's nothing I can do about that," said Victoria Snider, whose brother, James L. "Sonny" Buchanan Jr., was slain Oct. 3 as he mowed a lawn in White Flint. "But I am asking Congress, 'Please do not take away my rights.' "
The liability legislation, which would protect the gun industry from ongoing and future lawsuits, recently passed the House and is pending in the Senate, where 54 members have voiced support.
The firearms industry calls the legislation a prudent way to prevent manufacturers from being sued each time a criminal uses one of their weapons. Some gunmakers and distributors, facing numerous lawsuits nationally from victims and gun control groups, say jury verdicts and legal expenses could cost them hundreds of millions of dollars if they persist.
Opponents of the measure say it would put gunmakers and dealers in the unique position of being able to operate without fear of lawsuits and eliminate a motive to make weapons safer.
If the bill passes, sniper victims and their families said yesterday that one lawsuit derailed will be their own. Several victims' relatives are suing Bushmaster Firearms Inc., the Maine-based manufacturer of the XM-15 rifle used in the sniper attacks, and Bull's Eye Shooter Supply, the Tacoma, Wash., gun shop where the suspects allegedly got the rifle.
"If Congress passes this bill, I will never have the chance to make my case to a jury," said Rupinder Oberoi, who was shot and wounded in September, allegedly by the snipers, while locking up the Silver Spring beer-and-wine shop where he worked.
James Ballenger III, whose wife was shot to death outside a Baton Rouge, La., beauty store, also allegedly by the one of the sniper suspects, said passage of the measure would be a travesty. "My wife was killed for nothing. My children have to suffer without their mother," Ballenger said. "I want the people of the Senate to know that these people need to be responsible for what they sell."
Such emotional appeals are likely to play a significant role in a national movement, being launched by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, to defeat the bill. Michael Barnes, president of the gun control group, said that while the firearms industry can spend millions to lobby its cause, his group's strength is in the stories of gun victims. The campaign, he said, will include rallies and events across the country, with an emphasis on states that are home to undecided senators.
Lawmakers have credited the measure's unexpected success to the growing political clout of the National Rifle Association and the country's gun advocates.
Some members of Congress have said privately that they believe they need to vote yes on the measure to keep the gun industry from organizing voter revolts in their home districts.
Whether the emotional appeals by victims will help counter that political strength is unclear. Jim Purtilo, who edits a newsletter for gun enthusiasts in Maryland, said he is not intimidated by the effort. "The proponents of stronger restrictions are always willing to wave the bloody shirt," he said. "It's a sign of how weak their intellectual arguments are."
Moose, who recently left the Montgomery police department to finish writing a book about the sniper shootings, said the stories recounted by victims of gun violence at yesterday's news conference should provide a powerful reminder to the senators.
"I hope the people of the Senate understand that these are real people, real Americans," Moose said. "If you're going to pass laws that affect them, please listen to what they have to say."
