Congress Tries to Bulletproof Gun Makers
WASHINGTON " Congressman Brad Sherman said the House on Thursday tried to rob rights from victims of firearm violence, including the 1999 victims of Buford Furrow Jr., who wounded five people in a shooting rampage at a Granada Hills community center and then killed a letter carrier in Chatsworth.
The House voted 283 to 144 to pass and send to President Bush legislation to shield gun manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits.
œThe bill grants the makers, distributors and sellers of guns unreasonable immunity from lawsuits by families harmed by gun violence, Sherman said. œThe minute President Bush signs this bill he will be putting his thumb on the scales of justice in favor of the big gun manufacturers.
Sherman said the bill that he opposed also would insulate from lawsuits:
- A gun dealer who negligently sells a gun to a felon listed on the National Criminal Instant Background Check System.
- The manufacturer of the latest cop-killer handgun (the Five-seveN® Pistol) and its ammunition that can penetrate from 200 yards away many of the Kevlar bulletproof vests used by police officers.
- A gun dealer who sells 80 guns in one transaction to a consumer who œsays that he doesnt plan to resell any of them.
- A dealer who sells guns to someone he knows is on the terrorist watch list.
- The manufacture of a gun advertised as œfinger-print proof.
Bush is expected to sign the legislation, which also intends to require the dismissal of pending lawsuits. Gun victim lawyers have said they will challenge the constitutionality of the law.
The U.S. Supreme Court in January cleared the way for victims of Furrows shooting spree to sue the companies that made his guns, Glock Inc. and China North Industries.
A follower of the racist Aryan Nation, Furrow wounded five people on August 10, 1999, when he sprayed gunfire at the North Valley Jewish Community Center. Later that same day, he killed letter carrier Joseph Ileto because, he told police, Ileto looked œAsian or Latino. Furrow was spared the death penalty when he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five life terms in prison.