KS;Gun bill limits suits against distributors

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Gun bill limits suits against distributors Legislation: Bill would prevent local governments from suing legal makers and sellers for damages Last Modified:3:18 a.m. 3/13/2002 By John Hanna The Associated Press Rep. L. Candy Ruff Local governments couldn't sue the makers and sellers of firearms and ammunition for damages resulting from those products' legal sale or manufacture, under a bill now in a House committee.No such lawsuits have been filed to date by any Kansas counties or municipal governments -- and proponents of the bill want to make sure it stays that way.Under the legislation, only the state could sue for damages arising from the legal sale or manufacturing of weapons or ammunition. Local governments still could sue over breach of contract or defective products. The Senate approved the bill on a 36-4 vote two weeks ago, and a hearing on it was scheduled Thursday by the House Federal and State Affairs Committee.The measure is a response to lawsuits filed by at least 30 cities and counties around the country."I don't think you can blame the weapon for the idiot shooting it," said Rep. L. Candy Ruff, D-Leavenworth, a member of the House committee and supporter of the firearms bill.As passed by the Senate, the bill lacked a section proposed by the National Rifle Association and other gun rights advocates stating that designing, marketing, manufacturing or selling firearms and ammunition legally "is not an unreasonably dangerous activity."Gun rights groups have worried that firearm makers could be targeted for lawsuits, just as large tobacco companies were sued by Kansas and other states to recover the costs of providing health services for smoking-related illnesses.The concern grew after New Orleans sued gun manufacturers, dealers and trade associations in October 1998, arguing they should be held responsible for violence and police costs. Louisiana's legislators later enacted a retroactive ban on such lawsuits similar to the restriction proposed in the Kansas bill."The idea behind it is to have limits on municipalities and other government entities to keep them from essentially ganging up on people in a legally authorized and long-standing business and crushing it out of existence," said Sen. Ed Pugh, R-Wamego, a proponent of the Kansas bill.Not all legislators favor limits, especially given that no Kansas cities or counties have filed such lawsuits."I don't think there's a reason to take away the ability of local communities to exercise their right to sue," said Sen. Sandy Praeger, R-Lawrence, who voted against the bill. http://cjonline.com/stories/031402/leg_gun.shtml