Please help get the FReepathon in gear.
Donate today.
Click the Pic
Support Free Republic
Posted on 02/06/2013 10:16:45 AM PST by Red Steel
DENVER — Surrounded by the survivors and the families of victims from three of the most horrific mass murders in U.S. history, Democrats on Tuesday unveiled their blue print for comprehensive gun-control legislation.
In addition to often talked about measures such as universal background checks for all gun purchases and limiting high-capacity magazines to 10 rounds of ammunition, a new bill was promised — one that would make gun owners, sellers and manufacturers strictly liable for the death and destruction caused by military style assault rifles.
Senate President John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, said his bill would ensure that in the future the manufacturers and sellers of assault weapons such as those used in Aurora and Sandy Hook will be held responsible for the events in civil court.
That liability will result in industry changes on how the weapons are manufactured and sold, he said.
“There’s enough profit here that they can figure out how to get this accomplished,” said Morse, former Fountain chief of police. “The classic case, if you will, of strict liability is transporting dynamite. You are strictly liable — if something goes wrong it’s up to you. Does that mean we don’t transport dynamite? No, we’ve found ways to make sure nothing ever goes wrong.”
Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, called Morse’s proposal the most egregious of the extreme gun control policies presented Tuesday.
He likened it to holding a brewery, the distributor and the convenience store responsible for a drunken driving crash.
“There are real consequences to passing bills like these,” Brophy said.
Morse said he is a week away from filing the actual language of his bill.
Other bills are closer to being ready.
Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, said she will introduce a bill that would limit high-capacity magazines to 10 rounds of ammunition — a move that she said would save lives when attacks occur.
“High capacity magazines are designed for one thing, to kill large numbers of people as quickly as possible,” Fields said. “They are weapons of war.”
Brophy countered that limiting the magazines would do nothing to prevent their use, pointing out they are sold as standard issue with assault weapons and are prevalent on the streets.
And if they ban them, Brophy said, criminals will only make their own.
“Barring this is only going to keep law abiding citizens from having them, it wouldn’t keep them out of the hands of criminals,” he said.
Soldiers are given 30-bullet magazines, Fields said, while James Holmes used a 100-round magazine — that reportedly jammed — when he killed 12 people in an Aurora movie theater last summer.
Among those killed in the theater shooting was Jessica Watt’s cousin Jonathan Blunk, a Navy veteran and father of two.
Watts, 28, detailed how gun violence has impacted her life, starting with her husband attending Columbine High School when the 1999 massacre occurred.
She said he wasn’t hurt physically but they have dealt with the emotional scars of that event.
Then in 2006, a girl she babysat for, Emily Keyes, was killed in a hostage situation at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey.
House Speaker Mark Ferrandino called Watts’ story “a sad commentary on the pervasiveness of gun violence in America.”
Ferrandino said Democrats also will seek a mandatory background check for all gun sales including those that occur between private parties.
He said lawmakers also are drafting legislation to address mental health needs in Colorado, including funding for state programs and other needs.
--
Proposed Gun Laws
These eight laws were proposed Tuesday by Democrats in the House and Senate but have not been filed as legislation.
• Assault Weapons Liability — would make manufacturers, sellers, owners or possessors of military assault firearms, strictly liable for any death or injury resulting from the weapon.
• Universal Background Checks — would require background checks for all gun buyers, including those who purchase from individual sellers, and would enhance mental health sharing data between state and federal agencies.
• High-Capacity Magazine Ban — A ban on the sale or ownership of any ammunition feeding devices capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
• Mental Health Support — would direct mental health professionals to notify the Colorado Bureau of Investigation of individuals who are a danger to themselves or others so they could be put in a database and rendered unable to purchase a firearm.
• Domestic Violence Prohibition — would prohibit individuals convicted of domestic violence or currently under a protective order from possessing firearms.
• In-Person Training — Prohibits training online for concealed carry permits.
• Background Check Fee — establishes a $10 fee for anyone undergoing a background check from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to obtain a firearm.
• Campus Safety — prohibits concealed carry on college campuses in Colorado.
By this same logic they should arrest everyone in a neighborhood where a crime was committed and hold them all responsible for the actions of another.
“Senate President John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, said his bill would ensure that in the future the manufacturers and sellers of assault weapons such as those used in Aurora and Sandy Hook will be held responsible for the events in civil court.”
While this retards try to find some excuse to get the actual shooter away from the electric chair on some sort of BS mental excuse.
Liberals’ ultimate goal is to have the fascist state where every Greenie/Lefty/Gay/Keynesian/PC thought can be implemented with the force of SWAT Teams not fearing their brains being splattered while kicking in doors.
Liberals live in a world of fantasy and intentions outweigh results, whereas we know that results matter, the intentions can be used in as part of the defense in a court case, but little else.
Liberals also cannot stand guns because they fear how THEY would act if given a loaded Glock...they are so angry, so jealous and with no foundation of morality, apt to kill or maim.
This is why most killers are Leftists, from Manson to Loughner...Mao, Stalin, etc. The Occupy crowd rapes, shoots heroin and kills people...the TEA Party just wants a chance for taxes to be lowered and people act civilized.
There is no difference. Colorado is just a symptom of the Liberal gun-grabber agenda.
Any state that passes legislation like this should be cut off by all firearms manufacturers for any new weapons/ammo contracts/buys. Local dealers should do the same. Do what Barrett did to CA. Cut them off.
And car dealers, and gas stations, and convenience stores...
I hope the pie-eyed DemonRATs keep it up.
They are phenomenally over-reaching.
I hope the American Soviet Press lauds their efforts 24/7 and on every front page above the fold.
Many of these Demons will be crushed in the next election.
Many of the RINOs that go along for the ride with the Demons will be ousted by Tea Party candidates in the primaries.
Make it so ...
“How about instead we hold politicians and judges personally liable...”
Assault Weapons Liability — would make manufacturers, sellers, owners or possessors of military assault firearms, strictly liable for any death or injury resulting from the weapon.
If I were a Colorado politician with any balls, I would attach a personal liability amendment to this bill each and every time that it came up. The amendment would include the stipulation that not only current members of the legislature be held liable, but that the liability would be in perpetuity, regardless of whether that person was in office or not.
The people who do their damage often leave and can never be held accountable for the really awful legislation that they inflict on the people. My proposal follows them until death wherever they may be.
They will hide behind sovereignty and state that they are protected by it. But when you try and legislate the citizens’rights away, their claim to sovereign protection ends.
who are we going to hold responsible for lightning?
Also, if a drunk driver causes an accident where people are injured or killed, and it’s determined that the driver drank a number of bottles of Budweiser beer, should the victims or their families be allowed to sue Anheuser-Busch?
I remember a case in Seattle about 25 years ago. A woman gave birth to a baby with FAS. They sued Jim Beam (IIRC) and lost. I remember it because I was waiting at the bus stop outside the courthouse the afternoon after the couple lost the case and the local news media interviewed me and asked my opinion.
It ended up on the evening TV news that night and the next day I was in court on a jury on another case and there was some hushed conversation between the attorneys and the judge. They then excused the entire jury except me and asked if I was the one in the news story. I said I was. They then wanted to know if it would affect my opinion on the current case. I said it was not germane to our case and they let it go.
Heck, the case I was involved with was about a guy who lost his leg because a doctor used artificial vein to fix a problem.
But this whole post is TMI.
Bottom line is that it’s ridiculous to hold a manufacturer responsible for the missuse of their product. They should only be responsible when it fails to function properly. And when a bad guy uses a gun to shoot a person, it functioned properly. The shooter is the problem.
Will Colorado Dems hold automakers liable in accidents?.
How about we hold politicians responsible for all the lives they ruined?
Exactly. The morons on the left are always pulling this kind of idiocy without thinking. Imagine what this would do to the price of a car. Democrats are a bunch of morons.
I guess it would be a good idea to allow ambulance chasers to sue the biological parents too for creating a criminal or crazy kid. Go lawyers!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.