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U.S. Senator questions federal investigation of BB guns
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Enzi questions federal investigation of BB guns By The Associated PressU.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said he thinks a federal investigation into high-velocity air guns may reflect more of an antigun attitude than one based on legitimate safety concerns.The Consumer Product Safety Commission is considering recalling the 856 - a multipump air gun made by Daisy Manufacturing Co. - after a teen-ager was shot in the head with one.The commission is expected to decide on a recall Tuesday. Enzi has asked the commission to reassess its "unclear, insufficient" criteria for evaluating the gun's safety.A recall also would violate the Constitution, he told the commission in a letter dated Thursday."This can only be perceived as a direct attack on the 2nd Amendment and the right to bear arms," he said.Tucker Mahoney was injured in May 1999 two days after he received the BB gun from his parents for his 16th birthday. He and a friend were shooting at targets in his backyard in Solebury, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia.The boys began shooting the gun at each other because it was emitting only air, the Mahoneys' attorneys said. The multipump gun can be pumped by hand to increase the muzzle velocity.When the other boy shot at Tucker, a BB fired, cracking Tucker's skull and piercing an artery in his brain. Tucker was left unable to walk or talk.The family claims the gun is defective and that it appeared to be empty when a BB was stuck in its magazine. The family's attorneys contend the company knew about the alleged defect but kept it hidden. They want the gun recalled.The company disputes their claim.Enzi's letter said more than 98 percent of all firearms have no automatic safety mechanism and the gun's gravity feed systems usually only fail after thousands of uses. The failure of such a system can cause a BB to lodge in a gun."This model has not changed in 25 years and for the past 20 years the (commission) has found it to be nondefective," Enzi said. "As recently as 1999 the commission found the same gun to be safe."The Mahoneys filed a suit against Daisy that was settled for $18 million. The family's attorneys requested that the commission investigate the 856 in May 2000.Before multipump guns, most BB guns could fire with a velocity no greater than 375 feet per second and could, at worst, put an eye out, experts said.That velocity was doubled by the multipumps, some of which cost less than $50. http://www.trib.com/HOMENEWS/WYO/BBGunInquiry.html
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