Senate Republicans move up vote on gun lawsuits

[Psycho4Bud]

"Without this legislation, it is probable the American manufacturers of legal firearms will be faced with a real prospect of going out of business," Frist said.


"These frivolous suits threaten a domestic industry that is critical to our national defense, jeopardize hundreds of thousands of jobs and put at risk that law-abiding citizens have access to guns for recreational use," he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20050728/pl_usatoday/senaterepublicansmoveupvoteongunlawsuits

Hope it passes. Why should a person be able to take a law suit out on the manufacturer? They didn't pull the trigger!

[amsterdam]

sounds good to me.

[bhallg2k]

It's not that gun manufacturers should be held liable (though under some circumstances, they really should, ie marketing, safety measures, etc), it's the dealers, who would also be exempt from litigation under this bill. There's nothing to stop a gun dealer from selling a firearm to someone that shouldn't have one under the law and no way for them to be forced to make restitution if they do so.

I don't understand the Republican stance on so-called "frivolous" lawsuits. Why don't they know that well over half of all plaintiff claims are rejected (source: ABA)? Why don't they know that even if successful, awards given to plaintiffs have steadily dropped since 1992 (source: DoJ)? Why don't they realize that in our judicial system, a 225 year-old one at that, defendants have many rights, judges monitor all filings for validity and attorneys can be punished for bringing "frivolous" lawsuits to court (source: ABA)? I don't get it. How is it conservative to put more laws in place when they aren't truly necessary?

Besides, no entity should be given a permanent shield from litigation. It goes against common sense. This is tantamount to licensing the gun industry to do whatever they want.

And the Republican strategy to play politics by focusing on this bill rather than a $491 billion defense spending bill (which they cast aside just for this) in the midst of two wars is appalling. On top of that, Sen. Frist should be ashamed of his comments, saying that these lawsuits threaten our military's ability to defend our country. No federal contractor is ever at risk for bankruptcy. Federal contracts are simply too large.

This is pathetic partisan politics.

[amsterdam]

im headed to the range.

[nicholasstanko]

yep, applaud the demise of firearms factories. it'll be great when the american people wake up and realise that no guns=no protection from a corrupt government.


ah but what the hell, they're only your rights after all