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http://www.pressi.com/int/release/69357.html
ABA URGES SENATE TO REJECT CIVIL LIABILITY EXEMPTION FOR FIREARMS INDUSTRY
(PRESSI.COM 07/10/2003) WASHINGTON, DC, July 9, 2003 - This week, in a letter to U.S. senators, American Bar Association President Alfred P. Carlton Jr. expressed the Association's strong opposition to S.659, the Protection of Legal Commerce in Arms Act. The bill, which Carlton called a "sweeping federal intrusion into traditional state responsibilities for designing and administering state tort law," would immunize gun manufacturers, gun dealers and gun trade associations from liability for the widest range of potential ordinary civil claims.
"The responsibility for setting substantive legal standards for tort actions in each state's courts, including standards for negligence and product liability actions, has been the province of state legislatures and an integral function of state common law since our nation was founded," said Carlton. "S.659 would preempt state negligence and product liability laws for cases in which the defendant is a gun manufacturer, gun seller or gun trade association, and would insulate this new class of protected defendants from almost all ordinary civil liability actions."
Carlton also pointed out that, despite the concerns of many of the bill's sponsors, there is no evidence that state courts are failing to handle their responsibilities in this area of law. "There is no compelling reason to alter longstanding traditions of deference to state law on this issue at this time," said Carlton.
"The proponents of this bill cannot, in fact, point to a single court decision, final judgment or award they have paid out that supports their claims of a 'crisis'."
While the bill is unnecessary, argued Carlton, its impact will be severe. "The broad and, we believe, unprecedented immunity from civil liability that would result from enactment of S.659 must be viewed against the existing legal backdrop of the present, unparalleled immunity the firearms industry enjoys from any federal safety regulation," he said. "Unlike other consumer products, there is no federal law or regulatory authority that sets minimum safety standards for domestically manufactured firearms."
As a result of this bill, he noted, consumers - including police officers - who are injured by gun models that fire when dropped or that leave a round of ammunition in the chamber even after the ammunition magazine is detached, for example, would have no right to seek redress in courts.
In urging senators to look closely at the impact of the bill and vote against it when it comes to the floor, Carlton pointed out that the Senate has yet to hold even a single hearing on the bill. In separate letters to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Carlton noted that "the Senate has not heard from a single witness, expert or affected party on this significant proposed change in the nation's laws." He urged those committees to follow the "regular order" for legislation and hold hearings on the bill before it is considered on the Senate floor. Copies of Carlton's letters are available on the ABA website at http://www.abanet.org/poladv/letters/108th/home.html .
The American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional association in the world. With more than 410,000 members, the ABA provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public.
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Media contact: Tina Lanier, 202/662-1792, mailto:[email protected]
I will however admit that I have actually met a good lawyer or two. 