New Orleans did it first, last October. Chicago, Bridgeport, Conn., and Miami have since filed similar or identical lawsuits. Weapons confiscated by the Atlanta Police Department on display at press conference at which Mayor Bill Campbell announced City's lawsuit against gun manufacturers. The suit, that is, contends the gun industry, despite its insistence on placing the issue of gun safety on consumers, doesn't create a responsible product to begin with. In 1996, the most recent year for which statistics are available, more than 34,000 people were killed with firearms across the nation.
Studies show that most victims of unintentional shootings are children.
Campbell began the press conference by citing the case of an Atlanta boy who had recently shot himself in the hand, leg and thigh and was now hospitalized and in need of extensive surgery. Each year in Atlanta children gain access to guns and do harm to themselves and those around them. This unauthorized tragic use of guns is a matter we can no longer tolerate. Last week, the Senate Public Safety Committee unanimously approved legislation that prohibited any local government from suing gun manufacturers. The measure was scheduled to go before the full Senate last Friday.