🚀 go-pugleaf

     April 26 Neal Knox Update -- The New York State Supreme Court
may have sounded the death knell today for lawsuits against gun
manufacturers for actions by third parties.

     In a 7-Zip decision they shot down the most far-reaching case
against gunmakers, Hamilton v. Accu-Tek, et al.

     That infamous case (I found 276 newspaper and magazine
articles which referenced it) started in January 1995 when a group
of relatives of people killed with handguns sued 49 manufacturers
in Federal court alleging negligent marketing, design defect,
ultra-hazardous activity and fraud.

     Brooklyn Federal Judge J. Weinstein dismissed the product
liability and fraud causes but allowed the "negligent marketing"
claim to proceed in what has been called the most sweeping victory
for the anti-gun forces.

     After a lot of legal wrangling the U.S. Second Circuit
referred the key questions to the New York Supreme Court (which is
the sole arbiter of state laws) -- 1) whether the manufacturers had
"a duty to exercise reasonable care in the marketing and
distribution" of handguns and 2) whether liability could be
apportioned according to their share of the market.

     New York's highest court firmly declared "No" on both points.

     The case drew "friends of the court" briefs from the Trial
Lawyers Association, Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, and even
New York City and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and four
other groups -- most saying "stick it to the gunmakers."

     In slapping down the suit, the court poked holes in some of
the favorite claims of the anti-gun crowd, making the point that
"General statements about an industry are not the stuff by which a
common-law court" can assign liability.

     In a footnote the court points out the most obvious flaw in
the Charles Schumer-hyped 1998 BATF "study" which found that only
1.2 percent of dealers accounted for 57 percent of the "crime guns"
traced.  The court dryly noted that the data does not reveal
whether it is due to irresponsible conduct, "or merely reflects a
high volume or legal sales or some other activity (such as theft)
over which the FFL has no control."

     The court said manufacturers cannot get involved in
investigating a high number of traces to a particular dealer, as
plaintiffs demanded, because they are not informed the purpose of
the trace or the results, and any such private investigating might
mess up a criminal investigation.

     Undoubtedly recognizing that the plaintiffs were trying to use
the courts for political objectives, the court said "we should be
cautious in imposing novel theories of tort liability while the
difficult problem of illegal gun sales in the United States remains
the focus of a national policy debate."

     "Although plaintiffs have presented us with a novel theory --
negligent marketing of a potentially lethal yet legal product,
based upon the acts not of one manufacturer, but of an industry --
we are unconvinced that ... the duty plaintiffs wish to impose is
either reasonable or circumscribed."

     Translated that means:  get your silly case out of our court.

     It was a tremendous, but costly, win for the industry.  Would
that gunmakers could counter-sue against the lawyers and government
entities that cost them and us consumers so many millions.

     To read the just-published 24-page opinion:
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ctapps/decisions/36opn.pdf
-----------------

     This morning's Los Angeles Times gives a few more clues about
what's in the John McCain/Joe Lieberman gun show background check
bill -- which the newspaper calls a "backup" for Sen. Jack Reed's
(D-R.I.) restatement of the Senate's 1999 Juvenile Justice bill gun
provisions, which has 18 co-sponsors.

     The differences, like those between the Senate and NRA-support
House gun show bill, includes "how a gun show is defined, how much
time would be allowed for the background check and who would be
authorized to execute those checks."

     The Violence Policy Center, the Times says, "considers the
 McCain-Lieberman proposal a watered-down compromise."  Since VPC
wants all handguns prohibited, that's no surprise.

     The newspaper also reports that Attorney General John Ashcroft
will propose funding and manpower for more prosecutions for Federal gun law
violations -- which is what NRA has been demanding.  Perhaps when
that gets on the floor we can encourage our lawmakers to limit such
prosecutions to criminal misuse of firearms, rather than malum
prohibitum (bad because they're against the law) "crimes" such as
paperwork violations.

     The Times correctly states that both sides of the debate
predict that the Senate will pass a measure requiring background
checks on all firearms sales, but prospects are uncertain in
the House, where Blue Dog Democrats are more opposed to new gun
laws than most Republicans.
-------------------

     North Carolina gunowners had two wins in the House last night,
killing an effort to expand the state's safe storage law and
passing a ban on municipal suits against gunmakers for criminal
actions by a third party.

     The Florida legislature passed such a prohibition against
municipal suits yesterday, and sent it to Gov. Jeb Bush.
--------------------

     A Harris Poll released Tuesday says 62% favor stricter gun
control laws.

     What's interesting is when you ask those same people what type
of gun law they think would be most effective in reducing crime.
Invariably, the "most effective" suggestions are laws that have
been on the books for decades.

     Even casual gunowners have minimal understanding of just how
many gun laws are already on the books.  When I was at NRA-ILA we
conducted such polls and found that the least knowledge about
existing laws was mainly in the gun-hating New York Times
circulation area.


--
Help us keep you informed!  Send your Firearms Coalition dues to:

                       Neal Knox Associates
                     7771 Sudley Road, No. 44
                        Manassas, VA 20109

Suggested annual dues are the price of a box of ammunition -- $15 - $25.
                               --

Archives of these messages are stored at http://www.nealknox.com/alerts/.
Copyright (c) 2001 Neal Knox Associates.  All Rights Reserved.