Bill to Shield Gun Makers Is Approved
WASHINGTON — Congress on Thursday sent President Bush a bill long sought by the National Rifle Assn. that shields gun makers and sellers from lawsuits arising from misuse of their weapons.
Bush supports the bill, and once he signs it, lawyers are expected to seek dismissal of about a dozen cases filed across the country against firearm makers by cities and crime victims -- including one arising out of the 1999 shooting at a San Fernando Valley Jewish community center.
Gun control groups vow to challenge the measure's constitutionality.
The bill is the latest in a spate of measures that Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress have pushed to remake the legal system.
The gun legislation, which the House passed 283 to 144 Thursday and which passed the Senate 65 to 31 in July, was sparked by lawsuits filed in the late 1990s by several cities seeking to hold the firearm industry liable for gun violence. Gun rights advocates contended that the lawsuits -- which they say have cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees -- were intended to drive firearm makers out of business.
Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), called the lawsuits against the gun industry "nothing more than thinly veiled attempts to circumvent the legislative process and achieve gun control through litigation."
Another of the bill's backers, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), said, "One abusive lawsuit filed in a single county could destroy a national industry and deny citizens nationwide the right to keep and bear arms guaranteed" by the Constitution's 2nd Amendment.
The bill's opponents said it offered unprecedented immunity to a single industry.
"Why do we want to make the gun industry the most protected industry in America?" asked Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), whose husband was killed and son injured by a gunman on a Long Island train in 1993, said: "We are taking away the right of victims to be able to have their day in court."
About 30 states have passed laws providing some legal protection for firearm makers and dealers, causing dismissal of some lawsuits filed against the industry.
The federal legislation would provide "the full protection sought by the firearms industry" against such suits in any state, the National Shooting Sports Foundation said in a statement. The trade association represents firearm and ammunition manufacturers.
