Gun Lawsuits: Hazardous to Our Health -- 03/23/1999

Gun Lawsuits: Hazardous to Our Health

23 March, 1999

By Ben Anderson
CNS Staff Writer

(CNS) – The benefits of public access to hand guns outweigh the costs, according to a study released today that analyzes the effect of lawsuits against gun manufacturers filed by some big-city mayors wanting to hold industry officials responsible for emergency services related to gun violence.

Richard M. Daley, mayor of Chicago, Ill., has filed suit against gun makers on the grounds that their products are a public nuisance and that industry officials encourage criminal behavior by knowingly inundating cities with more hand guns than retailers can be expected to sell to law-abiding citizens.

The mayor of New Orleans, Louis., Marc Morial, has also filed against gun manufacturers claiming guns without certain safety mechanisms violate Louisiana's product liability laws. The emergency services used to treat injuries associated with gun use, some government officials claim, should be paid for by gun manufacturers.

But, the study released by National Center for Policy Analysis Senior Analyst Sterling Burnett suggests such lawsuits against gun manufacturers are more "hazardous" to the nation's health.

Burnett's study, "Suing Gun Manufacturers: Hazardous to Our Health," reveals facts and figures about how guns are more often used legally to defend law abiding against criminals – more so than criminals use guns to perpetrate crimes against the innocent.

"More crimes are prevented by guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens every year than are committed with guns. The savings to cities from these defensive gun uses and the general savings to society from gun ownership dwarf the cost to municipalities of gun violence," Burnett said.

The study points out that citizens use hand guns to defend themselves up to 3.6 million times a year. In many cases, the gun was never aimed at a target, but merely shown to the perpetrator. Additionally, 3,000 criminals are legally killed by armed citizens, nearly triple the number killed by police. Up to 17,000 are simply wounded by citizens.

On the business front, controlled firearm sports are beneficial to the economy, according to the study, which says, "more than 20 million Americans participate in various shooting sports each year, accounting for more than $30 billion in economic activity."

Burnett concludes that holding gun manufacturers responsible for the criminal use of their product is a useless premise. "There is no more valid rationale for suing gun manufacturers for the improper use of their products than there would be for suing knife manufacturers or manufacturers of various blunt objects that are used in violent crimes, all of which can result in costs to governments."

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