I echo some of my paleoconservative friends in their disgust at what passes for “Republican” these days.

And yet being in control – even unaggressive control by a very unconservative version of the party – has its benefits, if civil liberties matter to you:

A federal appeals court Wednesday tossed out New York City’s lawsuit accusing the gun industry of selling firearms with the knowledge they can be diverted into illegal markets.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a federal law provides the gun industry with broad immunity from lawsuits brought by crime victims and violence-plagued cities. A federal judge had allowed the lawsuit to proceed, though it had not yet reached trial.

New York is one of several cities that had sued gun makers. It said the industry violated public nuisance law by failing to take reasonable steps to stop widespread access to illegal firearms.

The lawsuit asked for no monetary damages. It had sought a court order for gun makers to more closely monitor those dealers who frequently sell guns later used to commit crimes.

Carnivore at TvM notes:

Yet another frivolous lawsuit against firearms manufacturers has been thrown out thanks to Congress passing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005.

Control has its benefits.

Yet another reason not to stay home in November, if you’re a Republican – even if you are upset at McCain or Norm Coleman or whomever.

This entry was posted by by Mitch Berg on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 6:00 am and is filed under Campaign '08, Victim Disarmament. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.