Bill to Make Gun Manufacturers, Dealers Pay for Deadly Selling Practices

Council Members David Yassky (D-Brooklyn), Eva Moskowitz (D-Manhattan) and Albert Vann (D-Brooklyn) unveiled bold legislation today aimed at stopping the flow of illegal guns into New York. Their ?Gun Industry Responsibility Act? (GIRA) would make firearms manufacturers and dealers liable for reckless selling practices that put guns in the hands of criminals.

Under the GIRA, any victim of gun violence in New York State who is injured or killed by an illegal gun could sue the gun's manufacturer or dealer. Both manufacturers and dealers could exempt themselves from liability, however, by meeting a code of responsible conduct designed to prevent illegal gun trafficking.

?We are under attack by the gun industry,? Yassky, author of the Brady Bill and Assault Weapons Ban, said. ?The manufacturers know who the dirty dealers are, but they refuse to do anything to stop them. That is why we have to use the courts to stop the violence ourselves.?

Folks, this is the downside to our Senate pseudo-victory. We blocked the AWB renewal, but as a result, we lost the gun liability bill -- and this sort of legislation is the result. It's actually worse than a simple lawsuit, because if it passes, it will specifically create liability. In other words, judges won't be able to throw out the suits because the legal theories are worthless; this legislation (again, if passed) will explicitly validate those legal theories.

This is the problem with elections; social idiots and psychopaths are the ones who win popularity contests.