Bernie and the "gun" thing

[DanTex]

9. Yet another repetition of the NRA talking point in defense of Bernie's absurd vote.

Actually, yes, you can sue both Ford and Budweiser for a drunk driving accident because neither of them have the same legal immunity that the gun industry enjoys. Of course, you'd lose, and you'd have to pay the legal fees for the defendant if the lawsuit was deemed frivolous. There are already protections for frivolous lawsuits, enough to handle the silly hypothetical examples of lawsuits that the NRA/Bernie have but forward to defend the law.

The lawsuits that this bill was designed to thwart were mainly filed by states and municipalities against gun manufacturers who were knowlingly profiting from guns that ended up in criminal hands. Their business and marketing practices lead to more gun violence, they could prevent it, but they don't because they make more profit by ignoring the common good. And, in fact, some of the lawsuits were succeeding (google Smith and Wesson). This is why the NRA wanted the law so badly -- they didn't want to see the profits of gun manufacturers hurt by either having them pay out settlements or else having to adopt responsible business practices.

The bill was nothing but a big corporate giveaway at the expense of the public. It gave the gun industry special legal protection that no other industry enjoys. If it were really a sound legal principle, then the bill should have covered all industries, not just guns. But it didn't because the gun industry had better lobbyists.