It was time, they said, to take gun makers to task and hold them accountable for the wreckage wrought with iron. Since then half a dozen cities have followed. And several state legislatures have moved just as quickly to exempt the gun industry from such lawsuits. But while courts and juries have yet to decide the merits of the lawyers' innovative but widely controversial approach to what they view as reasonable gun control, a larger issue is being debated. Lawyers in these cities say the threat of expensive lawsuits is the only way to force the industry to reform, which they believe will cut crime and will cut down on accidental shooting deaths.
Lawmakers say democracy is being bypassed.