NCJ Number
200360
Journal
The Crime Victims Report Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: March/April 2003 Pages: 1,12,14
Date Published
March 2003
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This second part of a multipart article focusing on gun regulation addresses legal attempts to hold gun distributors responsible for individuals’ unlawful uses of firearms.
Abstract
Discussing the increased tendency of States, such as Texas, to abandon historical interpretations of the Second Amendment, the author presents summaries of a series of court cases in order to illustrate the ways in which various State courts have recently ruled that the U.S. Constitution guarantees individuals a right to possess firearms. Arguing that greater support for individual ownership of firearms has not been met with individuals accepting greater responsibility for gun use, the author presents summaries of a variety of court cases that illustrate the ways in which plaintiffs are attempting to sue gun manufacturers and gun distributors for wrongful deaths resulting from the use of guns. After summarizing a series of court cases that demonstrate the potential for guns to cause harm does not constitute a defect for purposes of liability, the author describes various State courts’ decisions that argue for recognizing the social benefits of gun use as well as the problems associated with unlawful gun use. The author concludes that the powerful gun lobby has attempted to protect gun manufacturers from litigation and describes how gun regulation proponents are seeking to stop “dangerous” legislation that would allow the gun industry to avoid being held accountable for wrongful deaths from unlawful gun use.