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Congress Holds Hearing on H.R.2037
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Congress Holds Hearing on H.R. 2037
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
H.R. 2037-the bill introduced by U.S. Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Chris John (D-La.) that would shield the firearm industry from politically-motivated lawsuits seeking to hold gun makers liable for the criminal misuse of their products-continues to make headway in the U.S. House of Representatives. A hearing on H.R. 2037 was held Thursday, April 18 before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. The bill now has 222 co-sponsors-four more than a straight majority of the House, which should help to ensure passage of this critical legislative remedy to the anti-gun lobby's flagrant abuse of our legal system if the bill reaches the House floor.
See if your congressman is a cosponsor here. If not, use our "Write Your Reps" tool at right to find contact information for your congressman and call or email and urge him to cosponsor H.R. 2037!!
To read industry testimony in support of this critical legislation click on the links below:
Testimony by H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D. Senior Fellow National Center for Policy Analysis http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=356&1=View
Testimony of Jeff Reh General Counsel, Beretta U.S.A. Corp. http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=355&1=View
Testimony of Lawrence G. Keane, Vice President & General Counsel, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=354&1=View
Selected Quotations From the Municipal Firearms Litigation Decisions http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=358
Municipal Firearms Litigation "Scorecard"
http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=359
Summary of Congressional Testimony from NSSF http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=360
http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=353
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
H.R. 2037-the bill introduced by U.S. Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Chris John (D-La.) that would shield the firearm industry from politically-motivated lawsuits seeking to hold gun makers liable for the criminal misuse of their products-continues to make headway in the U.S. House of Representatives. A hearing on H.R. 2037 was held Thursday, April 18 before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. The bill now has 222 co-sponsors-four more than a straight majority of the House, which should help to ensure passage of this critical legislative remedy to the anti-gun lobby's flagrant abuse of our legal system if the bill reaches the House floor.
See if your congressman is a cosponsor here. If not, use our "Write Your Reps" tool at right to find contact information for your congressman and call or email and urge him to cosponsor H.R. 2037!!
To read industry testimony in support of this critical legislation click on the links below:
Testimony by H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D. Senior Fellow National Center for Policy Analysis http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=356&1=View
Testimony of Jeff Reh General Counsel, Beretta U.S.A. Corp. http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=355&1=View
Testimony of Lawrence G. Keane, Vice President & General Counsel, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=354&1=View
Selected Quotations From the Municipal Firearms Litigation Decisions http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=358
Municipal Firearms Litigation "Scorecard"
http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=359
Summary of Congressional Testimony from NSSF http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=360
http://www.nraila.org/LegislativeUpdate.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=353
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
By Jeff Johnson
CNSNews.com Congressional Bureau Chief
April 19, 2002
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in the House is moving to protect the gun industry from lawsuits that supporters of the Second Amendment say are questionable in both their merits and motives.
Since 1998, more than 30 cities and counties have filed lawsuits against gun manufacturers and dealers, seeking payment for the "societal costs" of deaths, injuries, and property damage resulting from the illegal use of firearms by criminals.
Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) - chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection - calls the actions "junk lawsuits" and says their sole motivation is to drive gun makers and dealers out of business.
"These suits are different from other lawsuits against an industry. The cities and counties are not representing specific victims, nor are they claiming specific damage against [public] property," he said.
"Instead, they are suing because they happen to dislike a product that a company produces and markets legally," Stearns added.
But Elisa Barnes, an attorney who has argued against the gun industry in court, claims manufacturers and dealers should be held liable for the actions criminals commit with their products because the industry is intentionally selling "too many" guns in states with permissive gun laws.
"It's the gun manufacturers' fault for selling disproportionate numbers of guns, more than the legitimate markets in those states will bear, to outlets and vehicles that they know, by direct evidence, sell guns to traffickers," she said.
Through a number of variations, the lawsuits claim that because manufacturers "knew or should have known" that criminals might use their products unlawfully, they are liable for the actions of those criminals.
Stearns has introduced the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (H.R. 2037) to stop such lawsuits.
The bill directs the Secretary of Commerce to create and maintain a list of each manufacturer or seller licensed to engage in interstate or foreign commerce involving firearms or ammunition and all trade associations representing such manufacturers or sellers.
As long as a manufacturer, seller, or trade association does nothing illegal or negligent in the conduct of its interstate business, it would be exempt from civil lawsuits based on the criminal acts of any other person.
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) opposes the bill. She says the idea of suing a manufacturer for personal injuries caused by the unintended use of its products is not a new idea.
"Let's talk about the Ford Pinto, for example. Ford was sued because the Pinto would explode in a ball of flames when the car collided with other objects. Now, collision is certainly not an action for which the car was created," she said. "Liability suits were brought against the manufacturer of the Pinto, and cars are much safer today."
But Congressman Ernest Lee Fletcher (R-Ky.) questions the logic in DeGette's analogy.
"If a gun actually explodes in an individual's face ... the manufacturer could still be held liable, just like Ford Motor Company with the Pinto," he explained.
"What we're talking about is: Would Ford Motor Company and the Pinto be liable if somebody runs over an innocent bystander?" he added. "Clearly, that's not the case."
Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, says the primary goal of the attorneys filing the lawsuits is not necessarily a court victory.
"They've boasted that their attacks would 'bleed the thinly capitalized firearms industry into submission' in our country, and that's what this is all about," he said. "These are political lawsuits brought for political purposes.
"Using the judicial system, improperly, to try to affect social policy by simply bankrupting companies is wrong," Tauzin concluded. "If you want to make those arguments, make them here [in Congress]."
None of the lawsuits have resulted in any judgments against the gun industry, monetary or otherwise. But Jeff Reh, general council for the Beretta USA Corporation, says the suits have been costly nonetheless.
"Our product liability insurance [cost] has increased about 30 percent in the last several years. Our [insurance for the types of suits filed by the cities and counties] increased 1,500 percent ... because of the lawsuits," he said.
Reh added that many insurers will no longer cover legal costs or losses for such lawsuits.
The city of Boston recently dismissed its suit against the industry voluntarily.
According to a dismissal document, the city concluded that "the goals of the [City and the Industry] can be best achieved through mutual cooperation and communication, rather than through litigation, which is expensive to both the Industry and taxpayers, time-consuming, and distracting in a time of national crisis."
Boston officials decided to dismiss the suit after reviewing "millions of pages of confidential documents" describing the efforts of the gun industry to make guns harder for criminals to acquire, and more difficult for children to accidentally misuse.
Jersey City, N.J., is the most recent jurisdiction to file such a suit. The move came one day after Boston announced its decision.
Since the first lawsuit was filed in the City of New Orleans, 27 states have passed laws forbidding such lawsuits. Stearns' bill to outlaw the suits nationwide currently has 221 co-sponsors.
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200204\CUL20020419a.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
4/19/2002
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Action Alert
Contact:
Physicians for Social Responsibility
1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 202-667-4260
www.psr.org/violence.html
As you know, PSR has long worked to apply basic safety standards to firearms and their manufacturers, the same standards that virtually every other manufacturer of a consumer product is required to adhere to. We encourage you to read and take action on the following urgent alert.
U.S. House of Representatives Leaders Address "Gun Industry Relief Act" -- PSR OPPOSES LEGISLATION
Today (April 18th) the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection held a hearing on the "Gun Industry Relief Act" (HR 2037). Subcommittee Chair Cliff Stearns (R-FL) is the lead sponsor of the bill.
The intention of the Gun Industry Relief Act (official title: the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act") is to give legal immunity to gun makers, even in cases where the gun industry negligently markets its products. This legislation is in response to the efforts on the part of cities, municipalities and gun injury victims to make the gun industry responsible for the products it makes, markets and distributes.
HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
1. Contact the members of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection and tell them to say NO to the Gun Industry Relief Act (HR 2037). Contact information can be found at www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html or by contacting Rebecca Bruno with PSR at 202-667-4260, ext.216.
House Committee on Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection
Cliff Stearns, (R-FL), Chairman
Republicans
Fred Upton (MI-6)
Nathan Deal (GA-9)
Ed Whitfield (KY-1)
Barbara Cubin, (WY-AL)
John Shimkus (IL-20)
John B. Shadegg (AZ-4)
Ed Bryant (TN-7)
Steve Buyer (IN-5)
George Radanovich (CA-19)
Charles F. Bass (NH-2)
Joseph R. Pitts (PA-16)
Mary Bono (CA-44)
Greg Walden (OR-2)
Lee Terry (NE-2)
Ernie Fletcher (KY-6)
W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (LA-3)
(Ex Officio)
Democrats
Edolphus Towns (NY-10), Ranking Member
Diana DeGette (CO-1)
Lois Capps (CA-22)
Mike Doyle (PA-18)
Chris John (LA-7)
Jane Harman (CA-36)
Henry A. Waxman (CA-29)
Edward J. Markey (MA-7)
Bart Gordon (TN-6)
Peter Deutsch (FL-20)
Bobby L. Rush (IL-1)
Anna G. Eshoo (CA-14)
John D. Dingell (MI-16)
(Ex Officio)
If you need more information, please contact Rebecca Bruno, Associate Director for Policy and Education for the Violence Prevention Program, at 202-667-4260 x216 or at rbruno@psr.org.
Thank you for your help.
http://www.jointogether.org/gv/news/alerts/reader/0,2061,550260,00.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878