On Thursday October 20, 2005 (my 41st birthday), the United States House of Representatives passed legislation that would protect firearm manufacturers against being sued for the illegal, uncivil and criminal misuse of their lawfully manufactured products.
The United States Senate passed a very similar measure in July of this year.
I heartily applaud this common sense action taken by Congress and about to be signed into law by President George W. Bush.
This law does not give complete immunity to gun makers, as it shouldn't. Gun makers can still be sued for making defective firearms. Gun dealers can still be prosecuted for selling firearms to anybody who has failed a criminal background check or who is a known felon.
The important part of this new law voids and prohibits governments and individuals from holding gun manufacturers responsible when their lawfully produced products get used during the commission of a crime.
This is simply common sense.
Ford, GM, Chevrolet and Toyota cannot be held liable when a drunk driver is involved in an accident. Likewise, Louisville Slugger cannot be held liable for a beating with a baseball bat. And a kitchen cutlery manufacturer cannot be held responsible for the criminal misuse of their merchandise and the stabbing of a violent crime victim.
To say that firearm manufacturers should be responsible for the criminal misuse of their merchandise is simply illogical and absurd. If not completely inane, the notion of holding a manufacturer accountable for the actions of a violent criminal, is pretty darn stupid if you ask me.
The firearm manufacturing industry is one of the most highly regulated in the world. To assert that there's not enough laws, ordinances, statutes and regulations for gun makers to follow, shows a complete lack of knowledge on the issue.
The truth of the matter is that a gun, all by itself, is completely inert and neutral. Without a person handling the firearm, it does nothing at all.
Anyone who fears a firearm all by itself, or one who thinks guns commit crimes is basically an intellectual ignoramus.
This law is strictly common-sense legislation. It protects gun makers from frankly idiotic lawsuits claiming that they're responsible for acts of violent crime. Yet, gun makers can still be sued or prosecuted for criminal negligence or for making defective products.
Anyone who disagrees with this common-sense legislation is either an idiot, or is trying to circumvent the United States Constitution by bankrupting the firearm industry, thereby getting around the right to keep and bear arms found in the Bill of Rights.
That's where I stand and I welcome your comments.
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