So, Congress passed a federal law protecting the lawful commerce in firearms from lawsuits over the damage caused by criminals and crazies who get their hands on some guns or ammo and hurt people.
But, the law still allows lawsuits against gun dealers or manufacturers who violate the law, and illegally sell guns. The law's protection is only for legal sales by dealers or manufacturers that follow the law and ATF's regulations.
See title 15 U.S. Code, sections 7901 to 7903.
WITH THAT IN MIND, consider this scenario:
A rap star is told by his financial advisers to diversify his business.
So he decides to get into the gun business.
He creates a company called "KopKilla Gunz, Inc."
KopKilla hires somebody to design a double-barrel break-open pistol that shoots 7.62 x 39 ammo. KopKilla markets the gun as using the same ammo as an AK-47 and brags that it can penetrate the body armor worn by most cops.
They also make this gun with a stippled finish and checkering that they say prevents fingerprints from being lifted from it.
Each gun comes with instructions on how to file off the serial number without compromising the strength of the frame. But there's a disclaimer saying it's illegal to file off serial numbers, at least in the United States, and the instructions are for "educational purposes only."
This gun sells for $150, but costs only $29 per unit to make at a sweatshop in South Central Los Angeles.
The gun isn't marketed to traditional jobbers and distributors, who will sell it to gun stores for retail sales. Instead, it's advertised in magazines that dopers and gangsters read, and bikers and tattoo fans. In each major city, KopKilla Gunz subsidizes a special-purpose gun store that only sells this one brand, and flyers at hip-hop concerts and other events of interest to those customers promote these local stores. KopKilla even supplies shuttle vans to take customers from concerts and other events to these gun stores, which are (where legal) open extra-late. Cross-marketing agreements are drawn up with the makers of malt liquor, menthol cigarettes, and the adult entertainment / porn industry.
The dealers are actually FFL licensed, and they make their customers show ID, fill out the Form 4473, etc. They keep the records the law requires them to, but no more. Nothing extra.
Except for those 80% complete "kits" that KopKilla also sells. They cost $225-- which is 50% MORE than a complete factory-made gun-- but they are sold anonymously by mail, online, and in person at concerts and other promotional events. Anybody who is over 5 feet tall and claims to be over 18 can buy a kit. Each kit comes with a template showing where to drill a couple of holes and suggestions on where to get the screws and pins necessary to complete the kit (any hardware store can set you up for $5 worth of small parts).
So, would there be any liability on the part of KopKilla Gunz when one of their guns is used by a thug to shoot the clerk at a liquor store?
But, the law still allows lawsuits against gun dealers or manufacturers who violate the law, and illegally sell guns. The law's protection is only for legal sales by dealers or manufacturers that follow the law and ATF's regulations.
See title 15 U.S. Code, sections 7901 to 7903.
WITH THAT IN MIND, consider this scenario:
A rap star is told by his financial advisers to diversify his business.
So he decides to get into the gun business.
He creates a company called "KopKilla Gunz, Inc."
KopKilla hires somebody to design a double-barrel break-open pistol that shoots 7.62 x 39 ammo. KopKilla markets the gun as using the same ammo as an AK-47 and brags that it can penetrate the body armor worn by most cops.
They also make this gun with a stippled finish and checkering that they say prevents fingerprints from being lifted from it.
Each gun comes with instructions on how to file off the serial number without compromising the strength of the frame. But there's a disclaimer saying it's illegal to file off serial numbers, at least in the United States, and the instructions are for "educational purposes only."
This gun sells for $150, but costs only $29 per unit to make at a sweatshop in South Central Los Angeles.
The gun isn't marketed to traditional jobbers and distributors, who will sell it to gun stores for retail sales. Instead, it's advertised in magazines that dopers and gangsters read, and bikers and tattoo fans. In each major city, KopKilla Gunz subsidizes a special-purpose gun store that only sells this one brand, and flyers at hip-hop concerts and other events of interest to those customers promote these local stores. KopKilla even supplies shuttle vans to take customers from concerts and other events to these gun stores, which are (where legal) open extra-late. Cross-marketing agreements are drawn up with the makers of malt liquor, menthol cigarettes, and the adult entertainment / porn industry.
The dealers are actually FFL licensed, and they make their customers show ID, fill out the Form 4473, etc. They keep the records the law requires them to, but no more. Nothing extra.
Except for those 80% complete "kits" that KopKilla also sells. They cost $225-- which is 50% MORE than a complete factory-made gun-- but they are sold anonymously by mail, online, and in person at concerts and other promotional events. Anybody who is over 5 feet tall and claims to be over 18 can buy a kit. Each kit comes with a template showing where to drill a couple of holes and suggestions on where to get the screws and pins necessary to complete the kit (any hardware store can set you up for $5 worth of small parts).
So, would there be any liability on the part of KopKilla Gunz when one of their guns is used by a thug to shoot the clerk at a liquor store?
