Calif. Judge Dismisses Suit against Gun Industry — 03/07/2003

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPrint.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200303\NAT20030307e.html

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YO! Another one bites the dusts and this one from a Kaliforinia judge?!?!?!?! WOW!
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Calif. Judge Dismisses Suit against Gun Industry
By Robert B. Bluey
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
March 07, 2003

(CNSNews.com) – A California Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit Friday against gun manufacturers and distributors, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Twelve California cities and counties sued the firearms industry for marketing guns that could be bought by criminals and youngsters.

Judge Vincent P. DiFiglia made the ruling Friday, said Gary Mehalik, spokesman for the gun-rights organization. DiFiglia had not yet ruled on a motion against trade associations, like the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Mehalik said.

“The judge has summarily dismissed the charges, meaning there is no basis here for a case,” Mehalik said.

The case drew parallels to lawsuits filed against the tobacco industry in the 1990s. It even had a so-called whistle-blower in Robert A. Ricker, a former executive director at the American Shootings Sports Council and National Rifle Association lawyer.

Gun-rights groups called the lawsuit foolish, and Mehalik was hopeful DiFiglia would dismiss the suit in its entirety.

“You can’t blame honest people for the things criminals do,” Mehalik said. “We distribute a legally manufactured product through a chain that is licensed by the federal government. Because somebody misuses something that a manufacturer builds doesn’t mean that the manufacturer has done anything wrong.

“It’s the equivalent of saying that if somebody goes out and drinks and gets in a car and runs over someone, the victim’s family gets to sue the person who brewed the beer and made the car,” he added. “It’s crazy.”

Los Angeles and San Francisco were two of the cities involved in the lawsuit. Gun-control groups had no immediate reaction to the decision.