Post by Woody Williams on Oct 20, 2005 5:43:54 GMT -5
Bill would shield gun makers from lawsuits
Seattle Post-Intelligencer ^ | October 20, 2005 | LAURIE KELLMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- President Bush will likely get a chance to sign into law a bill to shield the gun industry from lawsuits brought by victims of gun crimes, a controversial measure that has survived the Senate for the first time and is headed for passage in the House.
Supporters say the bill would protect firearms manufacturers, dealers and importers from financial ruin sought by crime victims' lawsuits that seek massive damages.
"Lawsuits seeking to hold the firearms industry responsible for the criminal and unlawful use of its products are brazen attempts to accomplish through litigation what has not been achieved by legislation and the democratic process," House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said in remarks prepared for Thursday's floor debate.
Support for the bill has only grown since a similar measure passed the House last year and was killed in the Senate after Democrats succeeded in attaching a controversial amendment. Aided by four new Republican seats, the bill passed the Senate in July, 65-31. In the House the measure has 257 co-sponsors, far more than the 218 needed to pass.
Opponents say the strength of the bill's support is testament to the influence of the gun lobby. They say that if the bill had been law when six victims of convicted Washington-area snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo sued the gun dealer from which they obtained their rifle, the dealer would not have agreed to pay the families and victims $2.5 million.
"It is shameful that Republicans in Congress are pushing legislation that guarantees their gun-dealing cronies receive special treatment and are above the law," said Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Calif.
President Bush has said he supports the bill, which would prohibit lawsuits against the firearms industry for damages resulting from the unlawful use of a firearm or ammunition. Gun makers and dealers still would be subject to product liability, negligence or breach of contract suits, the bill's authors say.
Opponents say the bill effectively exempts gun makers from liability and that dealers allow the weapons to get into the hands of people the law says shouldn't have them.
The bill is the National Rifle Association's top legislative priority.
Democrats and Republicans alike court the powerful NRA at election time, and the bill has garnered bipartisan support. But the firearms industry still gave 88 percent of its campaign contributions, or $1.2 million, to Republicans in the 2004 election cycle.
Gun control advocates, meanwhile, gave 98 percent of their contributions, or $93,700, to Democrats that cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The bill is S. 397.
On the Net:
Congress: thomas.loc.gov
Seattle Post-Intelligencer ^ | October 20, 2005 | LAURIE KELLMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- President Bush will likely get a chance to sign into law a bill to shield the gun industry from lawsuits brought by victims of gun crimes, a controversial measure that has survived the Senate for the first time and is headed for passage in the House.
Supporters say the bill would protect firearms manufacturers, dealers and importers from financial ruin sought by crime victims' lawsuits that seek massive damages.
"Lawsuits seeking to hold the firearms industry responsible for the criminal and unlawful use of its products are brazen attempts to accomplish through litigation what has not been achieved by legislation and the democratic process," House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said in remarks prepared for Thursday's floor debate.
Support for the bill has only grown since a similar measure passed the House last year and was killed in the Senate after Democrats succeeded in attaching a controversial amendment. Aided by four new Republican seats, the bill passed the Senate in July, 65-31. In the House the measure has 257 co-sponsors, far more than the 218 needed to pass.
Opponents say the strength of the bill's support is testament to the influence of the gun lobby. They say that if the bill had been law when six victims of convicted Washington-area snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo sued the gun dealer from which they obtained their rifle, the dealer would not have agreed to pay the families and victims $2.5 million.
"It is shameful that Republicans in Congress are pushing legislation that guarantees their gun-dealing cronies receive special treatment and are above the law," said Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Calif.
President Bush has said he supports the bill, which would prohibit lawsuits against the firearms industry for damages resulting from the unlawful use of a firearm or ammunition. Gun makers and dealers still would be subject to product liability, negligence or breach of contract suits, the bill's authors say.
Opponents say the bill effectively exempts gun makers from liability and that dealers allow the weapons to get into the hands of people the law says shouldn't have them.
The bill is the National Rifle Association's top legislative priority.
Democrats and Republicans alike court the powerful NRA at election time, and the bill has garnered bipartisan support. But the firearms industry still gave 88 percent of its campaign contributions, or $1.2 million, to Republicans in the 2004 election cycle.
Gun control advocates, meanwhile, gave 98 percent of their contributions, or $93,700, to Democrats that cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The bill is S. 397.
On the Net:
Congress: thomas.loc.gov
