On Monday, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) confirmed his status as just another anti-gun, big-city mayor when he announced that New York City would become the 32nd municipality to file a reckless lawsuit against members of the firearms industry. New York City's suit cites "deceptive marketing," "irresponsible supervision of sales," and "design flaws" as the causes of gun deaths and injuries. The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence (CPHV), the legal lapdog of the gun-ban extremists at HCI, signed onto Giuliani's suit as co-counsel. The New York City suit includes in its sights beleaguered gun maker Smith & Wesson (S&W) -- highlighting, once again, the fact that the S&W Sellout (see Special Fax 3/20/00) has been totally ineffective as a shield against lawsuits designed to circumvent the legislative process and bankrupt an entire industry. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D), one of the primary architects and most vocal proponents of the S&W Sellout, seemed to have mixed feeling over Giuliani's announcement. Spitzer and his litigious cronies have been unable to extort or bribe any other gun makers into signing the S&W Sellout, and several municipalities refuse to remove S&W from their own suits. The decision by Giuliani and CPHV to include S&W in their suit had Spitzer commenting, "It certainly does not create the appropriate incentive for other manufacturers to step forward."
U.S. Representative (and NRA Board Member) Bob Barr (R-Ga.) also commented on the Giuliani/CPHV announcement, making it very clear how he felt about the decision. "I was deeply disappointed by your announcement that the City of New York plans to file a frivolous lawsuit against legal firearms manufacturers," Barr opened his letter to the mayor. He also stated, "[Y]our lawsuit directly undermines the Second Amendment by seeking to create an environment in which firearms companies are unable to do business. If your goal is really to achieve a de facto repeal of the Second Amendment, I urge you to do it in the open, rather than resorting to the subterfuge of filing frivolous negligence suits." For more information on Representative Barr, who has authored legislation to put an end to these reckless lawsuits (HR 1032), please visit his website at www.bobbarr.org.
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