4 ms·

I'm not against gun control measures, but I've never understood this argument. Maybe I'm missing something, but is there another industry where we hold manufact

I'm not against gun control measures, but I've never understood this argument. Maybe I'm missing something, but is there another industry where we hold manufacturers liable for a properly functioning, legal product? If there is something they can do to make guns safer, just require it. If there isn't, it just makes more sense to ban gun sales than to make gun manufacturers liable for gun crimes. The automobile industry seems like a good parallel. Manufacturers can be liable for manufacturing defects, and seat belts and such are required. There are more advanced safety features available, but as far as I am aware, a manufacturer can't be held liable for injury simply for not including them. Perhaps it's just an end-run around the 2nd amendment. That's the only way this policy has ever made any sense to me.

niftich 10y ago
In the US, the tobacco industry was litigated against both by states and by private individuals until the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement [1] of 1998. Interestingly, a widow of a smoker suing the tobacco companies is the plot of the 1996 John Grisham novel 'The Runaway Jury'. When it was made into a movie in 2003, the script was adapted to a widow suing gunmakers after a workplace shooting. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_Master_Settlement_Agreement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_Master_Settlement_Agre...
- unclenoriega 10y ago
  Perhaps I'm mistaken, but isn't the premise of this litigation that tobacco companies engaged in marketing and other campaigns to hide or muddy the waters around the negative effects of smoking? I don't think that applies to gun manufacturers, whose product is designed to kill and marketed as such.
lostlogin 10y ago
Are you aware of the history of the car seatbelt in the US? The industry was against them and it was strongly opposed for quite a long time. http://blog.esurance.com/seat-belt-history/ http://blog.esurance.com/seat-belt-history/
- unclenoriega 10y ago
  That was interesting, and did have some details of which I was not aware. I do wish they had talked about any lawsuits that may have been brought over the lack of seatbelts before they were required. Maybe that didn't happen, but the article does show the efficacy of regulation. Why bother suing car manufacturers when you can just require seatbelts?
  - lostlogin 10y ago
    This is a good point, but how do you apply that sort of sanity to guns?
    - unclenoriega 10y ago
      Unfortunately, I don't see how right now.

niftich 10y ago

In the US, the tobacco industry was litigated against both by states and by private individuals until the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement [1] of 1998. Interestingly, a widow of a smoker suing the tobacco companies is the plot of the 1996 John Grisham novel 'The Runaway Jury'. When it was made into a movie in 2003, the script was adapted to a widow suing gunmakers after a workplace shooting. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_Master_Settlement_Agreement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_Master_Settlement_Agre...

unclenoriega 10y ago
Perhaps I'm mistaken, but isn't the premise of this litigation that tobacco companies engaged in marketing and other campaigns to hide or muddy the waters around the negative effects of smoking? I don't think that applies to gun manufacturers, whose product is designed to kill and marketed as such.

lostlogin 10y ago

Are you aware of the history of the car seatbelt in the US? The industry was against them and it was strongly opposed for quite a long time. http://blog.esurance.com/seat-belt-history/ http://blog.esurance.com/seat-belt-history/

unclenoriega 10y ago
That was interesting, and did have some details of which I was not aware. I do wish they had talked about any lawsuits that may have been brought over the lack of seatbelts before they were required. Maybe that didn't happen, but the article does show the efficacy of regulation. Why bother suing car manufacturers when you can just require seatbelts?
- lostlogin 10y ago
  This is a good point, but how do you apply that sort of sanity to guns?
  - unclenoriega 10y ago
    Unfortunately, I don't see how right now.