Moreover, the tobacco companies for decades misrepresented the state of their knowledge about the lethality of their products, engineered them to be addictive and marketed them to children. The government's argument that it has a cause of action under federal law remains untested, but it isn't laughable. Against the gun makers, the government does not even claim to have its own cause of action. Rather it is organizing a suit by local authorities and then stepping into negotiations to push its policies as a basis for settlement. Abortion foes might cheer then as gun foes do now.
Federal lawsuits can redress unjust readings of the law, as in the civil rights era.
Novel legal theories surely have a place in government litigation. But this is not a broad license to use suits or the threat of suits to get around democratic policymaking. To do so undermines the legislative branch, demeans the judicial and poses threats to the liberty of those who obey the law but fall out of official favor. News Jobs AP Shopping Archives Entertain.