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Coalition Against Gun Violence |
Originally appeared in Newsletter Vol. x,
No. y, December 1999
Bills in the House (HR 2037) and Senate (S 2268) granting broad immunity from civil liability to the firearm industry, will grant special protection for the gun industry not enjoyed by any other industry in America. These bills seek to bar city, county and even individual lawsuits against the gun industry. We need to be able to hold the firearms industry accountable for problems of criminal distribution, defective products and industry negligence.
There are innumerable dangers created by granting the gun industry the special protections provided by H.R. 2037/S. 2268. Here are a few:
The bill immunizes gun makers, gun sellers, and gun trade associations from liability under most negligence and other common law principles. Negligence law is the cornerstone of our civil justice system; it essentially requires people and businesses to use reasonable care in their actions to minimize the foreseeable risk that others in society will be injured. An action can be legal (preventing the imposition of criminal liability), but still be negligent (and warrant civil liability). Under current law, a gun dealer may be liable for shootings using guns negligently sold to a trafficker, for example, where the dealer sold 50 or 100 guns to a person who clearly intended to resell them to criminals. Under H.R. 2037, these dealers would be immunized from liability, despite their negligent conduct. Victims of gun industry misconduct would also be denied remedy under public nuisance law. Only a narrow class of cases - where the conduct is criminal, or the dealer negligently entrusted the gun to the shooter - would be allowed. The bill protects gun makers who refuse to make their products safer.
Guns are already the only consumer product (other than tobacco) exempt from federal safety oversight, so the federal government cannot recall unsafe firearms, or require the implementation of life-saving safety devices in guns. By eliminating liability in virtually all design defect cases, this bill would eliminate any incentive for the gun industry to design guns responsibly. The bill radically alters existing law. Under existing product liability law in most states, manufacturers must include feasible safety devices that would prevent injuries caused when their products are foreseeably misused, regardless of whether the uses are "intended" by the manufacturer, or if the product did not "fail" or "improperly" function. Manufacturers cannot put their heads in the sand and ignore how their products are actually used to injure people in the real world. Thus, cars must be made "crashworthy," even though they are not "intended" to be crashed. Cigarette lighters must be childproofed, even though children are not "intended" to use them. Under this bill, however, gun manufacturers face no liability for failing to implement safety devices that would prevent common, foreseeable injuries, so long as the gun was not "used as intended" whenever children or juveniles injure themselves or others with a gun.
The exceptions swallow the rule. Proponents of the bill may suggest that it protects most product liability claims, but that is incorrect. The bill would bar all products claims against gun makers where the gun was foreseeably misused or used in an "unintended" way whenever a child or juvenile obtains a gun or when an adult "unlawfully" uses or obtains a gun. For example, numerous children and adults are shot when guns are dropped, when users mistakenly think a pistol is unloaded, or when a child obtains a gun. It is feasible to prevent these shootings by implementing simple, known safety devices. But since these uses are not "intended," gun makers would be immunized from civil liability despite failing to make their products safer. Unlike the makers of any other product, gun manufacturers would be allowed to put their head in the sand, and profit from unreasonably dangerous products. Will Congress Give the Gun Industry Protection From Civil Liability ? Several of the most serious lawsuits the gun industry has ever faced are scheduled for trial this year. However, if Congress pushes through a bill that would provide the gun industry immunity from litigation, plaintiffs in those suits will not be given their day in court.
The gun industry's legal problems may have been exacerbated by revelations in the New York Times (2-4-03) that a corporate "whistleblower" has emerged in the California cases (in April, 2003, 12 California cities and counties will claim that manufacturers and sellers have contributed to a public nuisance). The Times reported that Robert Ricker, a former chief lobbyist and executive director of the American Shooting Sports Council, has filed an affidavit claiming that gun manufacturers have long known that some dealers corruptly sell guns to criminals. The affidavit also reportedly states that manufacturers have pressured each other to keep quiet about it for fear of legal liability.
The bills (HR 2037 and S 2268) to give immunity to the firearm industry were heavily supported, it is thought, because many members of Congress do not understand the unprecedented scope of these bills and the wholesale invasion on the rights of gun violence victims.
Legislation granting broad immunity from civil liability to the firearm industry was tabled when the D.C. snipers struck and Republican leaders stated that the time was not right for consideration of the bills. Both bills are expected to be reintroduced early in the 108th Congress.
Because an immunity bill would remove even the threat of lawsuit, the gun industry would feel even less of an obligation to build safer firearms and act more responsibly in how they are distributed.
We urge you to fax or email your Senators and Congressional Representative asking them to vote NO on these bills:
(for S 2268) U.S. Sen. Barbarba Boxer
Fax: (202) 956-6701
Website: http://boxer.senate.gov
(for S 2268) U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Fax: (202) 228-3954
Website: http://feinstein.senate.gov
(for HR 2037) U.S. Rep. Lois Capps
Tel: (805) 730-1710
Fax: (805) 730-9153
Website: http://www.house.gov/capps
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Copyright © 1999-2007 Coalition Against Gun Violence. All rights reserved.
A Project of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
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