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New bill could keep ATF records out of civil suits
As a gun rights supporter, I've been a bit embarrassed at my own side these last few weeks. First an Idaho town considers forcing people to own guns; now, a federal bill that proposes keeping ATF information out of lawsuits is making its way into the public dialogue. Human Events supports the bill in this article.
Of course, the article has a valid point in that anti-gun zealots are using the courts to bankrupt the gun industry. If a criminal kills someone with a gun, the gun's manufacturer and (provided the gun was sold properly) distributor should not be held accountable.
However, in the event that a gun dealer violates the law, knowingly selling a gun to a convicted felon, that dealer opens itself to civil lawsuits. ATF information should then be admissable in court, and this bill makes no exception for such a scenario ("It would provide that Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives data shall NOT be admissible, in any CIVIL action in a state or federal court, or in any administrative proceeding other than a proceeding commenced by BATFE," as Human Events puts it).
A Second Amendment-based court ruling that upholds the right of gun manufacturers and dealers to operate within the confines of the law would be optimal -- we certainly don't need a roundabout tactic that skirts the issue like this. With the Amendment in legal limbo, it's hard to see that coming, but at the very least this legislation should receive some serious adjustments. It should ban frivolous gun lawsuits (though that failed before due to a poison-pill amendment) instead of throwing a wrench in the evidence-gathering process.
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