Steven Mace
03-21-2003, 03:16 PM
Justice for Gun Victims Assails Senate Attempt to Grant Gun Industry Special Protections
3/21/2003
Press Release
Justice for Gun Victims
c/o Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
1023 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
www.justiceforgunvictims.org
Contact:
Blaine Rummel
Phone: (202) 408-0061
The Gun Lobby's Top Legislative Priority, S. 659 Would Shield Gun Makers and Distributors from Legal Action, Even If They Act Irresponsibly
Washington, DC - Justice for Gun Victims, a collaborative campaign including domestic violence prevention, civil rights, and gun violence prevention organizations, today (Thursday) condemned S. 659, which seeks to grant the gun industry special protections against legal action. A similar bill, H.R. 1036, was introduced in the U.S. House last month by Representative Cliff Stearns (R-FL).
Introduced by Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Larry Craig (R-ID), S. 659 seeks to deny the legal rights of gun violence victims seeking to hold the gun industry accountable for irresponsible manufacturing and selling practices. The bill also seeks to throw out pending suits against the gun industry, including one by the NAACP that will go to trial next week. Senator Craig is a National Rifle Association board member.
"This legislation seeks to deny gun violence victims their legal rights, and would render a permanent `not guilty' verdict on the gun industry's irresponsible business practices," said Joshua Horwitz, Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, the organization spearheading the Justice for Gun Victims campaign.
"See-No-Evil, Hear-No-Evil, Speak-No-Evil"
The gun industry has long known that its practices aid criminal access to guns--yet continues to do nothing about it. Just last month, a former gun industry insider and high-ranking NRA official blew the lid off the gun industry's code of silence.
In an affidavit, former Executive Director and Director of Government Affairs of the American Shooting Sports Council and former Assistant General Counsel for the NRA Robert A. Ricker described a "see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil" mentality within the gun industry.
According to Mr. Ricker's declaration, "many manufacturers and distributors consistently refuse to address the problem of the 'felons among us.' They instead hide behind the fiction that as long as a retail dealer has valid federal firearms license to sell guns, no attention to the dealer's business practices is required by its suppliers."
Legal action seeking to break up this collusion would be barred should S. 659 and H.R. 1036 become law.
Slamming Shut the Only Remaining Door to Justice
Gun manufacturers and sellers are already exempt from federal consumer product safety regulation. The only other product that enjoys this exemption is tobacco. Given the unwillingness of the current Congress and Administration to enact sensible regulation of guns and the gun industry, granting the industry legal immunity would remove the only remaining incentive for it to improve its business practices.
The proposed legislation would block suits filed by individual victims of gun violence, municipalities, and private organizations that seek to hold the gun industry accountable for irresponsible manufacturing or selling of guns.
"In an age of supposed corporate responsibility, granting blanket immunity to any industry is a bad idea," said Horwitz. "All the more so with an industry whose practices are contributing to the deaths of nearly 30,000 Americans each year."
About Justice for Gun Victims
Justice for Gun Victims is a collaboration of domestic violence prevention, civil rights, and gun violence prevention organizations dedicated to stopping the gun lobby's attempt to grant the firearms industry legal immunity. For additional information, visit www.justiceforgunvictims.org .
Date of Release: March 20, 2003
http://www.jointogether.org/gv/news/alerts/reader/0,2061,562314,00.html
Steve Mace
3/21/2003
Press Release
Justice for Gun Victims
c/o Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
1023 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
www.justiceforgunvictims.org
Contact:
Blaine Rummel
Phone: (202) 408-0061
The Gun Lobby's Top Legislative Priority, S. 659 Would Shield Gun Makers and Distributors from Legal Action, Even If They Act Irresponsibly
Washington, DC - Justice for Gun Victims, a collaborative campaign including domestic violence prevention, civil rights, and gun violence prevention organizations, today (Thursday) condemned S. 659, which seeks to grant the gun industry special protections against legal action. A similar bill, H.R. 1036, was introduced in the U.S. House last month by Representative Cliff Stearns (R-FL).
Introduced by Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Larry Craig (R-ID), S. 659 seeks to deny the legal rights of gun violence victims seeking to hold the gun industry accountable for irresponsible manufacturing and selling practices. The bill also seeks to throw out pending suits against the gun industry, including one by the NAACP that will go to trial next week. Senator Craig is a National Rifle Association board member.
"This legislation seeks to deny gun violence victims their legal rights, and would render a permanent `not guilty' verdict on the gun industry's irresponsible business practices," said Joshua Horwitz, Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, the organization spearheading the Justice for Gun Victims campaign.
"See-No-Evil, Hear-No-Evil, Speak-No-Evil"
The gun industry has long known that its practices aid criminal access to guns--yet continues to do nothing about it. Just last month, a former gun industry insider and high-ranking NRA official blew the lid off the gun industry's code of silence.
In an affidavit, former Executive Director and Director of Government Affairs of the American Shooting Sports Council and former Assistant General Counsel for the NRA Robert A. Ricker described a "see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil" mentality within the gun industry.
According to Mr. Ricker's declaration, "many manufacturers and distributors consistently refuse to address the problem of the 'felons among us.' They instead hide behind the fiction that as long as a retail dealer has valid federal firearms license to sell guns, no attention to the dealer's business practices is required by its suppliers."
Legal action seeking to break up this collusion would be barred should S. 659 and H.R. 1036 become law.
Slamming Shut the Only Remaining Door to Justice
Gun manufacturers and sellers are already exempt from federal consumer product safety regulation. The only other product that enjoys this exemption is tobacco. Given the unwillingness of the current Congress and Administration to enact sensible regulation of guns and the gun industry, granting the industry legal immunity would remove the only remaining incentive for it to improve its business practices.
The proposed legislation would block suits filed by individual victims of gun violence, municipalities, and private organizations that seek to hold the gun industry accountable for irresponsible manufacturing or selling of guns.
"In an age of supposed corporate responsibility, granting blanket immunity to any industry is a bad idea," said Horwitz. "All the more so with an industry whose practices are contributing to the deaths of nearly 30,000 Americans each year."
About Justice for Gun Victims
Justice for Gun Victims is a collaboration of domestic violence prevention, civil rights, and gun violence prevention organizations dedicated to stopping the gun lobby's attempt to grant the firearms industry legal immunity. For additional information, visit www.justiceforgunvictims.org .
Date of Release: March 20, 2003
http://www.jointogether.org/gv/news/alerts/reader/0,2061,562314,00.html
Steve Mace