GUN LAWSUITS RIFE WITH HYPOCRISY

The same administration that wants to sue gun makers for the cost
of gun violence defends the right of criminals to live in public
housing and refuses to prosecute them when they commit gun crimes,
NCPA Senior Policy Analyst H. Sterling Burnett points out.

The Clinton administration’s Department of Housing and Urban
Development is joining hypocritical mayors in pursuing suits
against gun manufacturers and distributors, says Burnett.

o Some of the cities involved in the suits are in the gun
business — trading in their used police firearms for
resale in exchange for new guns.

o Since 1993, federal prosecutions of for firearm crimes have
fallen 44 percent and sentence lengths for firearm
violations have dropped 20 percent under the Clinton
Justice Department.

o In addition, the administration has supported lawsuits by
the Legal Services Corporation to stop public housing
authorities from evicting criminals.

While opinion polls show the public supports stricter enforcement
of existing laws, a Tarrance Group poll found that only 5 percent
of the public feels that manufacturers should be held responsible
when firearms are misused.

Source: H. Sterling Burnett (senior policy analyst, National
Center for Policy Analysis), “Gun Lawsuits Hurt Us All,”
Investor’s Business Daily, December 29, 1999.

For text http://www.ncpa.org/oped/sterling/dec1299.html

For more on Liability and Guns
http://www.ncpa.org/pi/crime/crime51.html