> >THE WASHINGTON TIMES
> >
> >Dick Boland
> >
> > The “gun made me do it” people in New York state and California
have
> >experienced a big setback. The top state courts said gun makers cannot be
> >held liable for death and injuries because of their marketing practices.
> >This is good news for the National Rifle Association and bad news for the
> >dozens of lawsuits across the nation against gun manufacturers. The idea
> >that a company can be sued because someone misused its product is absurd.
> >Lawyers felt the gun makers’ marketing ploys were the cause of many
shooting
> >deaths and injuries.
> > It’s like blaming automobile companies, who tout their cars on
> >racetracks all over the nation, for your speeding ticket. After all, the
car
> >can reach speeds of over 200 mph, and you were just a victim of a
marketing
> >ploy. I suppose if the lawyers could prove that the gun makers were
> >responsible for all of the shootings that occur each night on TV, and
that
> >they do this with the intent of selling guns, they might have a case. But
> >it’s unlikely that will ever happen because jurors like television.
> > If marketing practices are what causes crime, shouldn’t we be
taking a
> >look at some of those rap singers who advocate killing cops? The rap
singer
> >made me get the gun, and the gun made me shoot the cop with the
> >steel-jacketed ammo advertised in the hunting magazine. This kind of
> >thinking would result in enough lawsuits to tie up our courts for years,
> >with lawyers salivating at the possibility of hitting a bonanza similar
to
> >the tobacco fiasco.
> > Once again we have a legal product under attack. Owning a gun is no
> >different than owning an automobile or, for that matter, a knife. All
three
> >result in numerous deaths each year because they were used maliciously.
> >Blaming the manufacturer for misuse of his product is business for
lawyers
> >and has nothing to do with right or wrong — and everything to do with a
fee
> >or a share of the loot if they win. At one time, there were more guns
than
> >lawyers in this country. Now look at the mess we are in.
> > There are so many laws concerning the purchase and use of guns,
> >including background checks, that it is hard to understand why more are
> >needed. Guns will always fall into the wrong hands, and criminals are not
> >going to be governed by any of the gun laws. The gun laws have but one
> >purpose: to discourage honest citizens from purchasing and owning
firearms.
> >No amount of laws will ever prevent someone intent on getting a gun from
> >doing so. The idea that a trigger lock will prevent children from getting
> >their hands on firearms is ridiculous. It is likely that parents will
keep
> >the gun in a drawer and the key to the lock nearby.
> > We depend on the government to defend us against criminals but at
the
> >same time leave us defenseless. It’s even against the law to own pepper
> >spray in many states. Occasionally, we read about a shopkeeper who guns
down
> >a thief in his store and is put through the mill for defending himself.
> >Maybe our Founding Fathers had the thief in mind when they gave us the
right
> >to bear arms. However, there are other thieves out there trying to steal
our
> >right to bear arms.
> >
> >
> >Dick Boland is a nationally syndicated columnist.
> >
> >
> > Back to Commentary
>
>