Not that things happen in great secrecy on the Senate floor, but the lack of noise surrounding S.397 is a little creepy. Today, the bill passed (easily) its
first test in the Senate, advancing to limited debate on a 66-32 vote, at the expense of the
defense authorization bill.
Yes, S.397 is just that important to this country. In fact, Bill Frist warns that it's a bill designed to keep our troops armed and ready for combat. Senator Frist has even gone so far as to say that
Without this legislation it is probable that the American manufacturers of legal firearms will be faced with a real prospect of going out of business, ending a critical source of supply for our armed forces.
Why does Bill Frist hate America? Why is he telling the rogue nations of the world that we're just one lawsuit away from being a disarmed society?
A previous diarist has already discussed the timing of this bill, so I won't get into that here. Instead, let's talk about what S.397 really does.
And why should we care? Why should anybody listen to the gun-control freaks who lost the election for John Kerry?
Look, we're into sensible gun laws, plain and simple. And a lot of what goes on in the legal system is dependent upon precedent. Limiting the kinds of litigation available to individuals, cities, corporations or "
any other entity" has a direct effect on America's ability to address the issue of gun violence. But that's not all there is to it.
No, S.397 isn't just about gun control. And it's not even really about tort reform. It's about who gets to have access to courts and who doesn't.
If S.397 passes the Senate, rolls through conference, and is signed by Bush, it will immediately invalidate all pending civil cases that name a gun dealer, distributor, or manufacturer as defendent. Let's meet some of the psycho gun-confiscating, industry-bankrupting, soldier-hating plaintiffs...
- The family of Anthony Oliver, who was shot and killed at the age of 14 by a gun trafficked by Lou's Loans in Philadelphia. Lou's is the source of over 400 guns traced to crime in just four years. If S.397 passes, this case gets tossed out of court.
- The victims of Lee Boyd Malvo and John Lee Muhammad, who took Bull's Eye Shooter Supply to court. Bull's Eye "lost" the XM-15 rifle Malvo and Muhammad used in the DC sniper shootings... along with over 200 other guns. Under the resrictions in S.397, this case could never have been brought to court.
We're not talking about ambulance-chasers or greedy corporations here. And we're not talking about your uncle who runs a gun shop in his neighborhood. There are a lot of responsible gun dealers -- but there are also some very shady dealers out there, who are nothing more than a backdoor into the black market. And the Senate is cozying up ot them.
Gun control... you either like it or you hate it. But I'd like to think that most people can get on the same page when it comes to setting a class of businesses outside the reach of the civil justice system. You can bet other industries are watching C-SPAN today, and readying their own versions of this bill. Pharmaceuticals next? Oil after that? And then, maybe, we might get around to things like defense authorization, restraining torture of prisoners, and investigating a certain plumbing problem.