"To what purpose are powers limited, and to what purpose is that limitation committed to writing,
if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803

Shooting Sports

by Lee

God I hate to do this, but I think this lawsuit is reasonable.

The manufacturer and dealer of the rifle used in the Washington, D.C.-area sniper shootings agreed Wednesday to pay $2.5 million in a settlement with victims and victims’ families.

The settlement with Bushmaster marks the first time a gun manufacturer has agreed to pay damages to settle claims of negligent distribution of weapons, said Jon Lowy, a lawyer with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. He helped argue the case. He said the settlement with Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply is the largest against a gun dealer.

“These settlements send a loud and clear message that the gun industry cannot turn a blind eye to how criminals get their guns,” Lowy said.

Bushmaster Firearms of Windham, Maine, agreed to pay $550,000 to eight plaintiffs. Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply of Tacoma, where the snipers’ Bushmaster rifle came from, agreed to pay $2 million.

Kelly Corr, the attorney representing Bushmaster, said the company made “no admission of liability whatsoever.” ...

The civil lawsuit alleged that at least 238 guns, including the snipers’ rifle, disappeared from the gun shop in the three years before the shooting rampage. Despite audits by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms showing that Bull’s Eye had dozens of missing guns, Bushmaster continued to use the shop as a dealer and provided it with as many guns as the owners wanted, the lawsuit alleged.

“It appears that 17-year-old Malvo was able to stroll into this gun store and stroll out carrying a 3-foot-long, $1,000 Bushmaster assault rifle,” Lowy said. “Bull’s Eye should have taken reasonable care to prevent guns from being stolen. Bushmaster should have required Bull’s Eye to implement simple, reasonable security measures.”

When this type of shoddy work goes on in the firearms industry it opens the door to restrictions placed on all legal gun owners.  I think it’s appropriate that the gun company should share some of the blame for the sloppiness of the people who it chooses to sell its product.

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