One of the fundamental beliefs of Libertarians is the Second Amendment — the right to keep and bear arms. As a result, most Libertarians have been angered by years of malicious lawsuits by anti-gun mayors (cough-Bill Campbell-cough) and Governors. But there is good news to report today: the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against New York City’s anti-gun lawsuit!
The lawsuit charged Beretta and other gun manufacturers and dealers of deliberately over-supplying guns with knowledge that some would end up in the hands of New York City criminals. It also sought damages for the health care costs of treating shooting victims.
The city claimed the lawsuit was permissible through a statutory exemption built into the Federal “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).”
The Appeals Court threw out the city’s lawsuit, and reversed the small part of it that had gone against the gun makers at the district level. The court’s reasoning is explained in three lines:
Those who are interested in the minutiae can access the court’s decision inCity of New York v. Beretta here and selecting “last 30 day’s decisions.”
This is the latest in a long and expensive string of city lawsuits against gunmakers. Although many cases remain active, the lawsuits have never succeeded; the courts have dismissed similar suits in Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. The City of Atlanta lawsuit, for instance, was disallowed in 2003.
These suits are expensive for two reasons. First, their main intent is to bankrupt gun makers and distributors, which already has caused the price of legal guns to rise; and second, taxpayers who may or may not agree with these suits ultimately have to pay the legal bills behind these lost cases in higher taxes.
Libertarians believe firearms are mere tools, with no inherent morality. We believe it is those who misuse tools in a criminal way who face sole responsibility for their actions. Constitutional rights should not be denied to The People because of the criminal actions of a tiny segment of the population. No one suggests restricting first amendment rights because the occasional newspaper article is found to be libelous; Libertarians believe the right of the people to keep and bear arms should not be restricted because of the criminal actions of a few.
The Libertarian Party of Georgia salutes the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals for remanding the New York City anti-gun lawsuit with instructions for the district court to dismiss the case.
