Gun Makers

SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco judge's decision to allow wrongful-death suits against manufacturers of assault weapons could turn into a legal nightmare, gun manufacturers warned yesterday.Lawyers for victims and firearms groups agreed that the unprecedented ruling on Monday is likely to lead to a surge of lawsuits against gun producers.Ernest Getto, the Los Angeles attorney for the gun maker who was sued, said the judge's decision could be used against the manufacturer of "any product that could be used lethally."

If, as reported in The Sun, Maryland's gun manufacturers decide to leave the state to go to Texas ("Several states woo Md. gun makers," March 10), perhaps Texas will leave the Union and Maryland can develop an industry making something healthier than toaster pastries for kids' free breakfasts. Judy Rhoades, Baltimore Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

FIREARMS manufacturers have readily used technology to increase killing power while failing to use it to add safety features to their weapons.That is the complaint of five U.S. cities suing gun makers. The worthwhile legal maneuver appears to be gaining momentum now that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and some members of Congress have joined the call to hold manufacturers legally responsible for the societal damage that firearms inflict.The lawsuits raise several important legal questions.

Better background checks and mental health programs critical for gun control There is no argument that America has a gun problem. No matter how many studies, statistics or mass killings, there will always be individuals who find comfort and even patriotism in owning guns. Most have a primitive, juvenile, single-minded interpretation of the Second Amendment which, through many years of effort, a pro-gun lobby has managed to amend by simply never mentioning the preamble.   We have allowed this interpretation to flourish and now find ourselves with millions of humans with millions of guns, slowly killing ourselves without any constitutional constraint.

As cities prepare to sue the gun industry for not taking steps to keep their products out of criminals' hands, critics of the industry are building an argument that gun makers began making more powerful handguns to make up for stagnant sales and that these guns quickly became popular among criminals.While the marketing innovation increased the gun makers' profits, critics contend, it also helped account for the rise in homicides in the 1980s and the greater seriousness of gunshot wounds in recent years.

WASHINGTON -- In a move to force the firearms industry to adopt safer ways of doing business, the federal government said yesterday that it was preparing a lawsuit against gun makers on behalf of the 3 million people who live in public housing projects, where shootings have taken a heavy toll for years.The White House and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have been laying the groundwork for the suit in recent months in hopes that the threat of federal action would intensify pressure on the gun industry to change how it makes and sells weapons, officials said.

Taking aim at the nation's mayors, a prominent gun owners organization issued a threat yesterday to Baltimore and the dozens of other cities considering suits against America's firearms manufacturers: If you sue gun makers, we'll sue you.Officials with the Second Amendment Foundation, a Bellevue, Wash., group that claims 600,000 gun owners as members, say they have begun drawing up lawsuits against New Orleans and Chicago. This fall, those two cities became the first to pursue the gun makers in court, where they seek damages for the police, emergency and medical costs associated with gun violence.

The NAACP's effort to curb gun-related homicides in black communities suffered a setback yesterday when a federal jury rejected its contention that the gun industry knowingly allowed its products to fall into the hands of criminals. U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein will make a final determination in the case, tried in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y. After deliberating for five days, the jury cleared 45 gun makers and distributors but was unable to reach a verdict on 23 other defendants.

CHICAGO -- Firing back at the urban plague of gun violence, lawyers and mayors from 13 U.S. cities held a first-of-its kind summit here yesterday to plot strategy for what promises to be a joint legal assault against America's firearms manufacturers.The afternoon meeting, over plates of chicken and rice at a 911 communications center on Chicago's West Side, came at the urging of the mayors of New Orleans and Chicago, which last month became the first two cities to file lawsuits against gun makers.

WASHINGTON - The Senate has easily passed legislation long desired by the National Rifle Association that would block most civil lawsuits against gun makers and dealers whose products are used to commit crimes. Despite strong opposition from gun control advocates, 14 Democrats - most from rural or heavily Republican states - joined all but two Republicans in the 65-31 vote yesterday. The bipartisan vote underscored the changing politics of gun control, an issue Democrats championed in the 1980s and early 1990s but have since backed away from as politically damaging.

Paging Mr. Fezziwig. One might get the notion that Charles Dickens' good-hearted fictional employer was back in business after the announcement this week by a private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, that it intends to sell Freedom Group Inc., the company that manufactured the Bushmaster rifle used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Was this a sudden case of moral conviction? Meanwhile, Dick's Sporting Goods has suspended sales of semiautomatic rifles at its stores.

After being struck in the face and head by shrapnel while on patrol in Iraq in 2005, Aaron Joshua Lawless performed first aid on a fellow soldier and returned enemy fire with a damaged gun, before being struck by an explosive device — an ordeal that earned him a Purple Heart and Silver Star. At least, that's how Lawless recounted his time in Iraq to his employer, a Maryland gun store, and the Glock gun-manufacturing company, which decided to honor Lawless as its 2008 "Glock Hero.

Three companies with ties to the Italian gun manufacturer Beretta together contributed more than the $4,000 political donation cap set by state election law -- giving a total of $12,000 to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s re-election campaign in August. Beretta USA, a U.S. subsidiary of Italy-based Beretta Holding, gave $4,000 to Ehrlich. Benelli USA and Stoeger Industries, also Beretta subsidiaries, separately gave $4,000 each to Ehrlich's campaign, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections.

WASHINGTON -- The House sent to President Bush yesterday a long-debated bill that would shield gun makers and sellers from lawsuits arising from the misuse of their weapons - the latest in a spate of bills aimed at limiting lawsuits that congressional leaders say are hurting business. The bill, which passed the Senate earlier this year, has been a top priority of the National Rifle Association, which accused gun control groups of attempting to use the courts to impose gun controls. Once Bush signs the bill, as expected, gun industry lawyers are expected to seek the dismissal of about a dozen cases filed by cities and crime victims.

WASHINGTON - The Senate has easily passed legislation long desired by the National Rifle Association that would block most civil lawsuits against gun makers and dealers whose products are used to commit crimes. Despite strong opposition from gun control advocates, 14 Democrats - most from rural or heavily Republican states - joined all but two Republicans in the 65-31 vote yesterday. The bipartisan vote underscored the changing politics of gun control, an issue Democrats championed in the 1980s and early 1990s but have since backed away from as politically damaging.

WASHINGTON - After years of battle, gun rights advocates are poised to win one of their biggest victories as the Senate moves toward shielding gun makers, dealers, distributors and importers from liability lawsuits. A result of increased Republican majorities in Congress, the passage of legal protection for the gun industry would mark an enormous setback for gun control advocates and for leaders of cities such as Chicago, which has filed suit against gun dealers and manufacturers. It would also be the second big win for the National Rifle Association and its supporters in two years.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- Kicking off the biggest legal test yet for the gun industry, a lawyer for seven New York families shattered by violence delivered her opening statement here yesterday in a closely watched civil lawsuit against 30 of America's firearms manufacturers.Elisa Barnes, who operates from a cluttered Greenwich Village office, told a jury of 10 women and two men that gun makers have created a public nuisance nationwide by saturating some areas with more handguns than they can reasonably expect to sell to law-abiding purchasers.

EVEN before the school shootings in Littleton, Colo., the U.S. gun industry was in trouble. Recently, a Brooklyn, N.Y., jury handed down the first verdict in U.S. history holding gun makers collectively liable for deaths and injuries to private parties.The Brooklyn case bodes ill for a shaky industry, and the worst is yet to come. Five cities have already filed lawsuits based on a variety of legal and factual arguments. More cities, several states and groups, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, are considering similar lawsuits.

THEY CALL it a "straw" sale. A gun is bought by a criminal's accomplice, often with cash. Dealers may choose to look the other way. Manufacturers can ignore the practice, too. Under just these circumstances, a West Virginia pawnshop sold 12 semiautomatic handguns five years ago. One of those guns was used to wound two New Jersey police officers in 2001. Luckily for the officers, they had some legal recourse; they sued the pawnshop and recently won a $1 million settlement - and the action led to local reforms over how guns are sold.

CHICAGO - Judges are often accused of "activism" - a desire to extend their reach from interpreting the law and resolving cases to making policy on matters that are none of their darn business. So they deserve credit when they resist invitations to override democracy. That's what the Illinois Supreme Court did by a unanimous vote Thursday, in a decision with repercussions beyond the state's borders. The cases involved lawsuits against gun dealers and manufacturers who offer weaponry in Illinois.