Can gunmakers be held liable for gun violence? A federal jury in New York begins deliberating the question Thursday, and the decision could have lasting repercussions for one of America's hot-button issues, gun control. Gunmakers argue that their product is legal, that they can't stop illegal firearms from entering the country, and that they can't control criminals. Plaintiffs -- including several families who have lost relatives to gun-related deaths -- counter that manufacturers knowingly sell their guns in markets with lax laws, guns which later turn up on the black market. Several American cities -- Chicago, New Orleans, Miami, and Bridgeport, Connecticut -- are suing the industry. Others, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, are considering it.
Aiming at Guns
Can gunmakers be held liable for gun violence? A federal jury in New York begins deliberating the question Thursday, and the decision could have lasting repercussions for one of America's hot-button issues, gun control. Gunmakers argue that their product is legal, that they can't stop illegal firearms from entering the country, and that they can't control criminals. Plaintiffs -- including several families who have lost relatives to gun-related deaths -- counter that manufacturers knowingly sell their guns in markets with lax laws, guns which later turn up on the black market. Several American cities -- Chicago, New Orleans, Miami, and Bridgeport, Connecticut -- are suing the industry. Others, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, are considering it.
