by Keeva Segal
As someone who works closely with the firearms industry, and,
in fact make my living doing web sites and ad work for the industry,
I have been closely following the spate of lawsuits. After all,
it is not only my 2nd Amendment right, but my paycheck, too.Well,
let me tell you, they are a lot more organized than they let on.
Here is some of what I know.
I found this little gem on the website for the Firearms Litigation Clearinghouse (http://www.gunfree.org/edfund/flc.htm). This is exactly what the industry faces. These folks are seriously organized to use any means needed to reach their goal of no guns. In partucular, pay attention to item 2. That is the one that is going to be central to lots of lawsuits, and the one that we need to be concerned about.
The Firearms Litigation Clearinghouse seeks to:
Also, please note that plaintiffs in these cases have massive support organizations. This is a greater threat to our 2nd Amendment rights than a whole barrel full of Sarah Bradys. They don't need legislation or popular support to succeed. All they need is the filing fee, a name plaintiff and a typewriter, and the industry is forced to spend more millions in more frivolous lawsuits. The redefinition design defect to include potential misuse is a looming threat not only to firearms, but to every other manufactured product in America. If they can win on guns, then they can win on everythng from cars to keyboards. Our rights become meaningless if there is no way to exercise them.
If we really want to make an impact here, it is time to get your state legislators and congress critters fired up about tort reform. It is precisely this kind of activity that is central to the new tyranny of litigation that we face on all fronts. Without wanting to offend anyone, it is well past time that these rampant lawyers who feel the courts are a vehicle to social reform (and in the process huge fees) were reminded that their duty is to the law, and not to any cause or fee arrangement.
In fact, the American Bar Association has held seminars on firearms litigation as a new area of tort actions. That is how serious this is.
This is nothing more than an advanced marketing seminar for trial lawyers who need to generate new markets. Folks, let me be really blunt here. There is more at stake than just RKBA. There is also the twisting and warping of our civil justice system into a pseudo-legislature to be used when the will of the people needs to be thwarted to satisfy the ends of those who would control us. If we do not rise up and make some serious noise about this, we will find more law created in tort actions than in legislative actions. And that is not the way it is supposed to work. If nothing else, this is direct proof that the current spate of lawsuits are basically actions in search of a plaintiff with adequate standing.
While it is nice that NRA and others are suing to prevent the misuse of NICS data, perhaps we need to focus on the fact that there is a concerted, organized, well-funded effort to litigate us out of business. And unless we have a similar effort in reply, the sky becomes the limit for these bottom feeders. Unless we vigorously join in defending these suits, and prevail, there will be more and more of them filed. Unless we take a stand here and now on this, we will see a growing cacophony of attorneys bellowing any and every ridiculous claim into a coutroom, and exiting with another unrealistic regulation or restriction.
If you question this, then here is proof. The tobacco industry has been forced in many suits to agree to pay penalties if teen smoking is not reduced to target numbers in specified time frames. Now, how the hell can a company based in Virginia be held responsible for the actions of a teenager in Iowa? Imagine the damage if firearms makers were forced to agree to penalties if crime was not reduced to target numbers in specified time frames. This takes responsibility for fighting crime off of the backs of the mayors and governors (who have failed miserably) and puts it solely onto private industry, who has no way to fight crime UNDER LAW, as the tobacco industry has no way to control teenagers UNDER LAW. And UNDER LAW is the key phrase. These suits subvert and negate that phrase.
That's right, it is well within the realm of possibility for this to happen. And, since accurate crime stats are as elusive as genuine teen smoking stats, we will always be on the wrong side of that equation.
This is an issue of responsibility, just like teen smoking. Who out there blames the tobacco company for getting them started on butts? Obviously it is the responsibility of parents and the schools to educate kids on the hazards of smoking (I smoke, for the record - and I know that I CHOSE to do so). Similarly, it is obviously the responsibility of law enforcement and government to control and reduce crime. If we allow that burden to shift tothe firearms industry, then we have allowed the next step down the slope towards an abdication of our freedoms as we know them today. It is that simple. We can chose to fight and fight to win, or choose to accept the rule of tyranny that will arise if trial lawyers and their ilk are allowed to create "law" to satisfy a litigious need.
Stand up, be counted and be loud folks. This is the big battle. And, don't be fooled, we can win some of this and still lose the war if we are not, indeed, eternally vigilant.
Keeva runs this web site and can be reached at keeva@mindspring.com.