dictionary

Gun industry sues public officials over firearms 'code of conduct'

The National Shooting Sports Foundation and seven firearms manufacturers are filing a countersuit against cities suing them, claiming there is a conspiracy to put them out of business.

April 26, 2000
Web posted at: 3:48 p.m. EDT (1948 GMT)

In this story: 'Self-important' elected officials blamed Gun makers' claims called 'legal blanks' States probe reaction to Smith & Wesson deal RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Raju Chebium
CNN Interactive Correspondent

ATLANTA (CNN) -- The gun industry on Wednesday sued Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo, two state attorneys general and 19 municipal officials, alleging they violated the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution by trying to force gun makers to adopt a safe-weapons "code of conduct" or risk losing business.

SPECIAL REPORT Case file: Guns Under Fire

MESSAGE BOARD Guns under fire

LEGAL RESOURCES Latest Legal News Law Library FindLaw Consumer Center Select a topic Bankruptcy Discrimination Divorce Estate Planning Landlord-Tenant Personal Injury Taxes

The National Shooting Sports Foundation and seven gun makers, filing suit in federal court in Atlanta, also alleged that the officials overstepped their authority in trying to regulate the industry through the code, while only Congress has that power.

"Our lawsuit arises from a politically motivated scheme in which the bureaucrats have sought to bully law enforcement officials into buying handguns based not on the quality or safety of the product, but on the capitulation by the manufacturer to a regulatory agenda," Robert Delfay, NSSF president, told a news conference in Washington.

'Self-important' elected officials blamed

Delfay said the industry is a responsible corporate citizen that strives to reduce gun violence and does not need to be regulated further. He said there are already 20,000 state and federal laws that govern firearms sales and distribution.

NSSF President Bob Delfay announces the countersuit.

He also said it is unfair for a group of "self-important" elected officials to try to force their gun-control agenda down the nation's throat when Congress has not felt it necessary to pass more gun-control legislation.

The officials named in the lawsuit have said they will urge law enforcement agencies to give preference to gun companies that sign the code, a bitter pill that the industry has refused to swallow.

In addition to the NSSF, seven gun makers brought the lawsuit -- Beretta U.S.A.; Browning; Colt; Glock; SIG; Sturm and Ruger; and Taurus International.

Cuomo, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal - named in the lawsuit - led efforts to establish the code last year. The code requires gun makers to make safer weapons and change distribution and marketing procedures to ensure weapons do not get into the wrong hands.

Gun makers' claims called 'legal blanks'

Blumenthal scoffed at the lawsuit.

"This action is preposterous, false and unfounded, and an insult to law enforcement," Blumenthal said in a statement. "It is plainly an effort to deceive and confuse the public and distract law enforcement officials from the work of improving gun safety and stopping crime.

"The claims are legal blanks -- no more than a lot of noise and smoke."

Spitzer said the industry's action is "irrational and legally spurious."

"The vitriolic language they are using is, in my view, a sign of the desperation of the industry," he said, adding that there is a "tidal wave" of public pressure for some form of regulation.

States probe reaction to Smith & Wesson deal

Since 1998, U.S. municipalities have filed 30 lawsuits against the industry, alleging gun makers don't do enough to prevent gun violence. HUD officials also are considering suing the industry to hold gun makers liable for deaths in the nation's housing communities.

On March 17, gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson broke ranks with the industry and signed the code in a Cuomo-brokered deal. Many municipalities and HUD agreed to drop or not bring legal action against Smith & Wesson, which said it agreed to the deal to reduce legal liability.

Spitzer, Blumenthal and at least four other attorneys general are now investigating whether the rest of the industry is conspiring to retaliate against Smith & Wesson in violation of the nation's antitrust laws, a charge the industry vehemently denies.

National Shooting Sports Foundation
Colt Manufacturing Inc.
SIG Arms Inc.
Sturm, Ruger & Company Inc.
Browning Arms Inc.
Beretta U.S.A. Corp.
Taurus International Manufacturing Inc.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.