Litigation Effective in Holding Gun Manufacturers Liable for Violence

Mounting public concern about violence in our communities and schools presents opportunities to ensure gun manufacturers are held responsible for safety and distribution of guns. Major U.S. cities — Chicago, New Orleans, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Detroit and Cleveland — have filed lawsuits against gun manufacturers. The intent of many of these suits mirrors the successful litigation against tobacco companies, holding gun manufacturers liable for negligent distribution and the high cost of gun violence.

The case filed by New Orleans seeks to hold manufacturers negligent for failing to use existing technology to integrate safety lock use on guns, which has proven an effective tool to prevent children from using guns.

Last year, Young v. Bryco Arms alleged that gun makers and distributors flood gun stores in Chicago suburbs. Earlier this year in a similar suit, Hamilton v. Accu-Tek, a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, found a group of gun companies negligent in failing to take reasonable steps to prevent their guns from causing injury.

Evidence in these cases showed that manufacturers oversupply markets which have weak gun control laws, allowing buyers, called straw purchasers, to illegally pass the guns on to juveniles.

The suits are based on the premise that gun manufacturers shouldn’t indiscriminately sell products specifically designed to kill people, turn a profit and then ignore distribution patterns.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is leading the effort to dispute the validity of these suits. The NRA is working hard to secure immunity for manufacturers in states like Georgia, which was one of the first states to pass NRA-backed legislation protecting gun manufacturers from product liability lawsuits brought by cities and counties.

"We constantly talk about not mandating to cities," said Florida state Representative Tony Hill, a CPA board member. "Cities and counties know what’s best on this issue because they’re the ones on the front lines. Bureaucrats in Tallahassee shouldn’t be telling them what to do." Following the shooting in Littleton, Colorado, Florida’s legislature shelved a bill prohibiting cities and counties from suing gun manufacturers.

At the Annual Meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Indianapolis, on July 27 CPA will host a State Issues Forum entitled "The Cost of Violence," focusing on approaches to curbing violence, including state action on litigation against manufacturers.