Aw, Shoot

Yesterday, a federal appeals court threw out New York City's lawsuit against gun manufacturers and distributors.  The suit started back in 2000, in an effort to curb the flow of illegal guns onto the streets of New York City.  The case demonstrated an ingenious use of the civil justice system since over the past decade major municipalities had been unsuccessfully bringing criminal prosecutions against gun manufacturers when their products hurt and killed people.

The Second Circuit's decision upheld an act of Congress (misnamed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act) that insulates Smith & Wesson, Beretta and other gun manufacturers (and distributors) from liability, holding that New York's public nuisance law does not fit into an exception in the act.

Although the Circuit court decision is regrettable, it does not affect in any way the City's lawsuits against gun dealers.  In those cases, filed in 2006, against 27 gun dealers in five states, the results to date have been extremely successful at stopping the small number of bad actors who violated gun sale laws.

For more information about these cases and some cool undercover videos - click here

UPDATE:  A few days after the decision, the New York Times published this great editorial