Chicago Court Case
Bucks Common Sense Trend
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"...The claim rests on the bizarre theory that since guns are sold in communities outside Chicago... the gun industry is intentionally flooding that market with guns they know will illegally find their way into the city..." |
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As reported by the New York Times (Jan. 3) and other media outlets, on
Monday, an appellate court in Illinois upheld a reckless lawsuit against
various gun manufacturers and distributors, claiming they were creating
a public nuisance. The claim rests on the bizarre theory that since
guns are sold in communities outside Chicago -- which has some of the
most restrictive gun laws in the nation -- the gun industry is
intentionally flooding that market with guns they know will illegally
find their way into the city where they would be used by criminals.
The case involves a Chicago police officer killed in 1998 and four
other victims killed in unrelated incidents. Judge William Cousins, Jr.
wrote, "A reasonable trier of fact could find that the criminal misuse
of guns killing persons were occurrences that defendants knew would
result or were substantially certain to result from the defendants'
alleged conduct." Such scenarios are a possibility, but to suggest such
hypothesis is "reasonable" stretches the bounds of credulity, as well as
long-established law.
In September 2000, a
previous Chicago suit was dismissed at the trial
level (and is on appeal before the same panel) that found the city's
public nuisance complaint didn't hold water. Monday's ruling could
still be appealed to the Illinois State Supreme Court.
Despite the fact that a majority of these reckless suits have been
thrown out on their ears, this latest ruling demonstrates that there are
still misguided jurists out there willing to defy both common sense and
legal precedent. Further, it should serve as a clarion call for passage
of H.R. 2037.
Currently with 203 co-sponsors, H.R. 2037 is the NRA-supported reckless
lawsuit preemption bill introduced by U.S. Representatives
Cliff Stearns
(R-Fla.) and
Chris John (D-La.). This legislation seeks to prevent
abuses to the American legal system that have seen firearms and
ammunition manufacturers being recklessly sued for the criminal misuse
of their lawful products by third parties.
If your U.S. Representative has not yet signed on as a co-sponsor for
this much-needed legislation, he needs to hear from you today! To find
out if your Representative is a co-sponsor, go to www.NRAILA.org, go to
the section called
"Legislative Updates," then use the
"Search for
information on THOMAS" link at the top of the page, and type in "H.R.
2037" in the space to search by bill number.
For those not on the
Internet, you can call NRA-ILA Grassroots at (800) 392-8683. If your
Representative is not a co-sponsor, you can contact him by calling the
U.S. House of Representatives' main switchboard at (202) 225-3121, then
asking to be transferred to your Representative's office. For
additional contact information, please use the "Write Your Reps" tool at
NRAILA.org.
Be sure to encourage your family, friends, and fellow
firearm owners to contact their Representatives as well and encourage
them to co-sponsor H.R. 2037!
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