[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 26 (Friday, February 12, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             REJECT THE LEGAL ``END AROUND'' ON GUN MAKERS

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                          HON. JOHN E. SWEENEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 12, 1999

  Mr. SWEENEY. Mr. Speaker, in the wake of the tobacco lawsuits, many 
in our nation's legal profession have fallen into the wrong-headed idea 
that courts, rather than legislatures, should decide all public policy 
issues. Nowhere is this more notable than in the lawsuits recently 
filed by several cities against the firearms industry.
  Mr. Speaker, even many publications that support restrictive gun 
control laws have spoken out against this trend. The Schenectady Daily 
Gazette, a newspaper that serves many of my constituents in upstate New 
York, blames violence on the lack of gun laws. I strongly disagree with 
that view--in fact, our nation has tens of thousands of gun laws at 
every level of government, and the laws in New York state are 
particularly strict.
  However, I do agree with the Daily Gazette's conclusion that the 
lawsuits are ``hugely misguided'' and nothing but an ``absurd money 
grab'' designed to make a scapegoat of a highly regulated industry that 
manufactures a lawful product. Mr. Speaker, I urge the nation's courts 
and legislatures to reject these ridiculous lawsuits, and I insert the 
Daily Gazette editorial for printing in the Congressional Record.

                 [From the Daily Gazette, Nov. 5, 1998]

                          Don't Sue Gun Makers

       New Orleans is a great destination for music lovers and 
     gourmets, but it's also a good place to get shot. In fact, 
     until a law-and-order mayor took office there four years ago, 
     it had the dubious distinction of being ``the murder capital 
     of the United States.'' Now the city has filed a huge--and 
     hugely misguided--lawsuit against 15 gun manufacturers. 
     Numerous other large cities reportedly want to join the suit. 
     Unbelievable.
       A cousin to the numerous lawsuits pending against the 
     tobacco industry, the suit attempts to make manufacturers a 
     scapegoat for products that are wholly lawful and used 
     primarily for their intended purpose. (Granted, guns aren't 
     supposed to be used to commit murder, but there's little 
     ambiguity about their primary function as weapons for killing 
     and maiming, whether for hunting or self-defense.)
       The lawsuit focuses on the product liability angle, 
     claiming that because gun makers fail to use enough safety 
     devices, their weapons are ``unreasonably dangerous.'' This 
     might be arguable if most gun deaths were accidental--if 
     typical lines like ``I didn't know it was loaded,'' or ``It 
     just went off'' were true. But in New Orleans--as in most 
     cities--the killings are intentional. And most adults who 
     handle guns know to take at least a little care to guard 
     against accidents.
       Are the gun makers to blame when some drug dealer steals a 
     pistol and wastes his rival with it? Not unless they're 
     handing out the weapons, or glamorizing this sort of behavior 
     with advertising, etc. And if some kid gets his hands on his 
     parents' gun and accidently blows his friend away, aren't the 
     parents really at fault for not doing a better job securing 
     the weapon?
       Where cigarette manufacturers can be accused of promoting 
     irresponsible usage, gun makers almost never advertise--at 
     least not handguns. And where the cigarette's primary 
     function is to provide smokers with pleasure--with illness an 
     unfortunate consequence--guns are inherently lethal.
       So let's stop this absurd money grab. Gun makers may not be 
     completely devoid of responsibility for this country's gun 
     problem, but a government that allows guns to be made and 
     people to buy and possess them seems a lot more culpable.

     

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