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ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK (AP) -- A federal law designed to give the gun industry broad immunity from lawsuits filed by crime victims and violence-plagued cities does not apply to a pending suit by the city of New York, a federal judge ruled Friday. If upheld, the ruling would raise questions about the effectiveness of the federal legislation, which was championed by the National Rifle Association and signed into law by President Bush in October. U.S. Judge Jack B. Weinstein said in a 97-page opinion that the legislation contained an exception wide enough to allow New York's claim to go...

S.397 On Senate Floor!--Final Vote Expected This Week! Tuesday, July 26, 2005 This afternoon, the U.S. Senate invoked cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 397, "The Protection of Lawful Commerce In Arms Act." S. 397 will now be debated on the Senate floor over the next few days. Now is your final chance to contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to pass S. 397 without any anti-gun amendments! Some of the possible anti-gun amendments expected to be offered to S. 397 include: .50 caliber rifle bans Semi-auto bans Bans on gun shows Amendments to gut the provisions...

Gun company isn't liable for teacher's slaying, court says By Bill Douthat Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Thursday, June 02, 2005 WEST PALM BEACH — An appeals court Wednesday dashed a widow's hope of punishing the gun industry for a so-called Saturday night special handgun used to kill a popular Lake Worth Middle School teacher. Florida's civil negligence laws do not support a 2003 jury verdict that found the distributor of the cheap.25-caliber gun partially liable for the death of teacher Barry Grunow, the 4th District Court of Appeal said Wednesday. Barry, then-3-year-old Sam and Pam Grunow in 1998. The...

Arms makers protected against use in civil suits WASHINGTON - A House committee gave a victory to the firearms industry yesterday, voting to bar the disclosure of some federal gun records for use in civil lawsuits. The information, including records of sales and a gun's use in crimes, is compiled by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Under a provision the House Appropriations Committee approved by a bipartisan 42-19 margin, that data could only be released to prosecutors and for criminal investigations. The measure's sponsor, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, a Kansas Republican, said it was sparked by a recent...

A landmark settlement has been reached in a lawsuit brought by two New Jersey police officers who were badly wounded by a robber using a gun bought by a straw buyer at a South Charleston, W.Va., pawnshop, lawyers for the officers said yesterday. Lawyers for both sides plan to submit the settlement, for $1 million, for approval to a West Virginia judge today. The settlement is considered significant because it is the first time a dealer will pay damages for supplying a firearm to the illegal gun market, said Dennis Henigan, legal director of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun...

NAACP Rests Case Against Firearms Industry"Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." For Immediate ReleaseApril 28, 2003 Contact: Dave Bean or Matt Masterson518-434-3582 BROOKLYN, NY - Having utterly failed to prove the baseless allegation that the firearm industry knowingly and willingly sells guns to criminals, the NAACP has rested its case after four weeks of testimony. "The NAACP has not proven its baseless and highly offensive allegation against a law abiding industry. The case was, as Shakespeare wrote in Macbeth, 'full of sound and fury, signifying nothing'," said Lawrence G. Keane, vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting...

<p>SAN DIEGO — Breaking ranks with industry insiders, a former lobbyist claims gun makers have consistently ignored sales of weapons to criminals by corrupt dealers and sought to scuttle reform, according to court documents.</p> <p>Robert A. Ricker said in a court affidavit that the gun industry has consistently failed to address the problem of the "felons among us." Ricker is a former executive director of the American Shooting Sports Council, a now-defunct lobbying group, and served on the legal staff of the National Rifle Association in the early 1980s.</p>

Judge throws out Grunow gun verdict Palm Beach Post Staff Reports WEST PALM BEACH - A judge threw out a jury's verdict today in what had been considered a landmark case against the distributor of a gun used in the shooting death of middle school teacher Barry Grunow. In November, Valor Corp. was found negligent for not supplying a lock with the tiny .25-caliber pistol. The gun itself was not defective, a jury said in a 6-0 decision. Although the judgment for Grunow's widow, Pam Grunow, was $24 million, Valor was found liable for only $1.2 million because jurors ruled...

Court says Chicago can try linking crime, gun industry November 5, 2002 BY FRANK MAIN AND FRAN SPIELMAN STAFF REPORTERS Chicago won a major legal victory Monday when an Illinois appeals court ruled the city can sue gunmakers and dealers for creating a public nuisance with their products. The ruling came more than two years after a lower court dismissed the city's $433 million lawsuit against the gun industry. "This is another important victory for gun victims and cities and local governments that are trying to stem the tide of violence," said Jonathan Lowy of the Brady Center to Prevent...

Millions of Americans play with paintball guns, which has led to lawsuits aimed at manufacturers and their marketing tactics. According to a number of lawyers representing plaintiffs in paintball cases, at least 20 cases are pending nationwide against paintball manufacturers and distributors. Many plaintiffs allege that the manufacturers and distributors deliberately market to young, inexperienced teen-agers, leading to serious injuries. In one of the first paintball liability cases to go to trial, attorney Michael O'Donnell of Denver's Wheeler Trigg & Kennedy scored a defense win in Colorado. The case is being appealed. Travis v. Barton, Brass Eagle, Wal-Mart, et al.,...