Judge Invokes New Federal Law in Dismissing Gun Lawsuit

Since 03-15-06

By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
March 14, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - A federal judge in California dismissed a "public nuisance" lawsuit against a gun manufacturer and a gun distributor on Monday, invoking a new federal law intended to protect the gun industry from politically motivated lawsuits.

The National Rifle Association said this is the first time a judge has used the new law (the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act) to stop an attempt to hold the gun industry responsible for the acts of criminals.

The lawsuit blamed Glock and gun distributor RSR for the criminal actions of white supremacist Buford Furrow, who in 1999 shot and killed a postal worker and wounded three children at a Jewish Community Center in Grenada Hills, California. Furrow, a former mental patient with a criminal record, was legally barred from owning guns.

According to the NRA, the Glock pistol, one of several guns Furrow was carrying, originally was sold to a police department, which eventually sold it to a licensed dealer, who in turn sold it to a collector, who finally sold it to Furrow.

Glock was targeted although it did nothing illegal, and RSR never owned, sold, or possessed the firearm, the NRA said.

"It is fitting that this case was the first ever dismissed based on the because the facts made this case the poster child for passage of common sense legal reform," said Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

President Bush signed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act into law in October 2005. At the time, the National Rifle Association called it the most significant piece of pro-gun legislation in 20 years.