from Join Together Online
Police chiefs and other law-enforcement officials have initiated a campaign against a federal gunmaker’s immunity bill, the New York Times reported Feb. 16.
The bill, which is up for a vote in the U.S. Senate in early March, would protect gun makers and dealers from civil lawsuits.
Chief William Bratton of the Los Angeles Police Department in California, along with 80 other police officials, signed a letter to the Senate indicating their opposition to the bill. In addition, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is running full-page advertisements in major newspapers featuring Bratton’s message.
Bratton also said he would go to Washington, D.C., to lobby senators.
“To give gun manufacturers and dealers immunity from lawsuits is crazy,” said Bratton. “If you give them immunity, what incentive do they have to make guns with safer designs, or what incentive do the handful of bad dealers have to follow the law when they sell guns?”
The Major Cities Chiefs Association, which represents the chiefs of police in the 50 largest cities, supports the campaign.
“This is not about doing away with guns, but about trying to ensure the safety of police officers and the American public,” said Bratton.
Currently, 59 senators are listed as sponsors of the bill, which is strongly backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA).
NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam claimed that most rank-and-file police officers support the bill. He added that the legislation “would not grant blanket immunity to every dealer and manufacturer.”
According to Arulanandam, in instances where a gunmaker or dealer violates state or federal law, a person could still sue.
However, the present wording of the bill would lead to the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the families of eight of the people killed during last fall’s Washington-area sniper shootings, according to Lloyd N. Cutler, a D.C. lawyer.
The lawsuit names Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply, the gun shop in Tacoma, Wash., where the snipers obtained the rifle used in the shootings, and Bushmaster, the gun manufacturer.
Because investigators found no record that Bull’s Eye sold the rifle to the snipers, it cannot be charged with a violation of the gun laws. Instead, the lawsuit charges negligence in the store’s handling of the inventory.
Since negligence is not a violation of federal or state law, Cutler said Bull’s Eye and Bushmaster could be granted immunity if the bill passes.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the gun-immunity bill last fall.