Responsibility
Jul 29th, 2005 at 4:27 am by Susie
Score another one for the “personal responsibility for thee but not for corporate me” crowd:
The nation’s gun lobby is close to realizing a long-sought goal of protecting firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held legally responsible for violent crimes committed with their handguns and automatic weapons.
Supporters believe they have the votes in the Senate to pass as early as today a bill making it virtually impossible for victims of gun violence to file civil suits against the industry — a testimony to the political clout of gun manufacturers, which have become increasingly vulnerable to civil lawsuits in the District and several states. Twelve Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), are joining with the Republicans to support the legislation.
Like many bills, it seems logical. But when you read more about the tactics gun manufacturers use, they’re not quite as innocent as they like to appear.
Use a gun to kill someone and that is not Smith and Wesson’s fault, but download a movie with grokster, (another legal product that can apparently be misused in illegal fashion) and somehow it is Grokster’s fault. Very consistant.
Good to know that downloading movies is a more serious crime than just shooting people, at least as far a the law applies to the product of a business being used in the comission of a crime. What other conclusion could a reasonable person draw?
Cheers,
Naked Ape