US: Lawsuit against gun industry dismissed

Date: 21 Jul 2003

A lawsuit alleging that the gun industry had not done enough to curb the availability of illegal weapons has been thrown out by a US federal judge, although the manufacturers were criticised for 'careless marketing practices'.

The suit was dismissed because the plaintiffs, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), were unable to show that its members were uniquely harmed - even though it was successful in showing that they suffered relatively more harm.

The target companies for the suit included Smith & Wesson, Glock and Browning Arms, who were alleged to have allowed corrupt dealers to provide guns to criminals. The companies responded that it was unlawful and unfair that they should be held responsible for the criminal use of legal products.

The judge in the case did, however, criticise the companies for taking too few measures to reduce the "public nuisance they individually and collectively have created".

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