From: Thomas A Chandler, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Center to Prevent Hangun Violence Warning to Industry U.S. Newswire 11 Jul 16:29 Center to Prevent Handgun Violence Warns Gun Industry: Delaying Tactic is "Waiting for Godot" To: National Desk Contact: Nancy Hwa of Handgun Control/Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, 202-289-5785 WASHINGTON, July 11 /U.S. Newswire/ As the Republican National Convention approaches, the Legal Action Project of the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence has served notice to the gun industry that the industry's high hopes of a George W. Bush presidency are in vain. The Legal Action Project is stepping up its efforts to represent gun violence victims in lawsuits against the industry. Since 1989, the Legal Action Project has pioneered innovative theories of gun industry liability against gun manufacturers and sellers in an attempt to hold the gun industry accountable for dangerous and irresponsible practices. The Legal Action Project's legal theories have been used in the past to bring claims on behalf of individual victims of gun violence and are now being used by the cities and counties suing the gun industry. The Center represents over two dozen of the cities and counties that have filed suits against the industry. By intensifying its pro bono work for victims, the Center is sending a message to gun manufacturers and dealers that relying on the possibility that Governor George W. Bush will be elected President of the United States will not insulate the industry from legal accountability for its misconduct. The gun industry recently broke off settlement talks with the Department of Housing and Urban Development over threatened public housing authority lawsuits in the hopes that a George W. Bush presidency will result in federal legislation to prohibit municipal lawsuits. As Governor, Bush signed legislation banning local government lawsuits against the gun industry in Texas last year. "The gun industry seems to be forgetting that even if Bush is elected President and even if he manages to push legislation shielding the gun industry from municipal lawsuits through the new Congress, victims of gun violence still can and will file private lawsuits against the gun industry," said Dennis Henigan, Director of the Legal Action Project. "Innocent victims of gun industry misconduct will continue to assert their legal rights and we are ready to help them." On June 29, the Center announced a significant new lawsuit brought on behalf of victims of a series of racially-motivated shootings on July 4 weekend of last year. African-American, Asian American and Jewish victims of violent white supremacist Benjamin Nathaniel Smith brought suit in Chicago against the gun trafficker, gun dealer and gun manufacturers whose conduct allowed Smith easy access to handguns in the illegal market. The defendant dealer, Old Prairie Trading Post, sold over sixty handguns over a two-year period to trafficker Donald Feissinger, who then sold two handguns -- one a Bryco Arms .380, the other a .22 caliber Ruger, to Smith. Smith had tried to buy a gun from a legitimate dealer, but was turned away because a background check revealed he was under a domestic restraining order. The suit charges that Old Prairie knew, or should have known, that it was dealing with a gun trafficker who was buying such a large volume of handguns to sell them into the illegal market. The suit also names Bryco Arms and Sturm, Ruger, charging that the gun makers failed to set standards for the retail sale of their firearms that would prevent such large-volume sales. In May, the Center also brought suit in Michigan for shooting victim Ronald Rissman, who was shot by a mentally disturbed individual in June of last year. The suit was brought against gun dealer Target Sports, Inc., which sold a handgun to the shooter even thought the store had been warned of his mental instability. Finally, the California Court of Appeals recently opened the door to a possible new trial in Dix v. Beretta, the first case ever brought against a gun maker for failure to "personalize" guns to prevent their use by children and other unauthorized users. Center lawyers had filed this case against gun manufacturer Beretta for the parents of a teenage boy who was accidentally killed by his friend with a gun the friend thought was unloaded. A jury had ruled 9-3 against the parents, but the appeals court found there was reason to believe that at least one of the jurors was biased in favor of Beretta. A new trial may be ordered in the case. "These cases demonstrate our determination to hold the gun industry accountable to innocent victims for its choices that increase the risk of violence," said Mr. Henigan. "The gun industry may be counting on George W. Bush and a future pro-gun Congress to rescue it from the city cases, but the industry will always be vulnerable to courageous victims willing to assert their rights. Smith & Wesson finally concluded that the only way to truly protect itself from liability for irresponsible conduct is to act responsibly. Eventually, that simple truth will dawn on the rest of the gun industry as well." ------ The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence was founded in 1983 to reduce gun violence through education, legal advocacy, research, and outreach to the entertainment community. Chaired by Sarah Brady, the Center's national initiatives include violence prevention programs for youth, education programs on the risks associated with guns, legal representation for gun violence victims, reform of the gun industry, and research on the risks associated with guns and on the efficacy of gun control laws. More information about CPHV and its sister organization, Handgun Control, can be found on our website at www.cphv.org. -0- /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/ 07/11 16:30 Copyright 2000, U.S. Newswire -- Actually this sounds pretty weak to me, lots of suits filed, but how many won? Steve. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
