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Sunday, October 3, 1999

City: No gun lawsuits
Officials support legislation instead
By Jennifer Stump
Caller-Times

It worked against the tobacco companies.
   Now, about 20 cities across the country, including Atlanta, Boston and Chicago, hope to recover the cost of gun-related crime by suing gun manufacturers.
   Legal experts say the new litigation likely will spread throughout the country, especially in larger, crime-ridden cities and in areas where gun control measures enjoy popular support.
   And while the gun control debate so far has been waged mostly at the federal level and in state legislatures, legal experts say the city-waged fights against gun manufacturers show there's been a shift to bring the discussion down to the local level.
   "This is all new. It's all grassroots," said Frank Vandall, professor at Atlanta's Emory University School of Law. "It's because of the loss of community, the loss of the city. There is enormous fear to go about in the city, certainly after dark and sometimes during the day. Because of gun violence we have lost our cities."
   But Corpus Christi officials say such litigation isn't likely to happen here. Most city, county and state and federal elected officials surveyed by the Caller-Times say they oppose these kind of lawsuits, although they generally support gun control measures.
   "That's ridiculous," said Nueces County Commissioner Joe McComb. "Why don't they sue automobile makers because they have wrecks in their cities?"
   Watching and waiting
   This spring, members of the state Legislature agreed.
   Senators voted 23-7 and the House voted 107-39 to pass a bill that requires local governments to receive the state Legislature's permission before suing a gun manufacturer. Similar legislation has been considered in other states, including Louisiana and Georgia.
   State Rep. Jaime Capelo, D-Corpus Christi, voted against the measure and said cities should be the ones to decide whether they want to pursue a lawsuit against anyone.
   "I thought it was inappropriate to take that right away from citizens," Capelo said. "At a time when everyone believes in local control, the state Legislature and the governor went right against that."
   Robert Spitzer, political science professor at the State University of New York at Cortland and author of "The Politics of Gun Control," said the legislative action means that no lawsuits can be expected from Texas unless other cities are financially successful and the state lifts the ban.
   Spitzer said most Southerners oppose legal action against gun manufacturers. But he also said that most people initially opposed the tobacco lawsuits as well.
   "The legal strategy is very similar," he said. The argument is that they make a product that causes harm and they could do more to make it less dangerous. A number of cities are jumping on the bandwagon, and I think the gun manufacturers are really concerned about this."
   While the litigation will likely be long and drawn out, Spitzer said local governments everywhere will be watching to see whether the suits are successful.
   "The cities have sufficient resources to file suits and cities are pretty strongly in favor of gun control," Spitzer said. "Their constituencies like it. You've got a case that really united politicians with law enforcement; plus they can get money. It's a pretty hard position to swim against."
   Legislation, not litigation
   David Davis, senior vice president with DecisionQuest, a jury consulting company that worked on the O.J. Simpson and Menendez cases, said the lawsuits pose a real legal threat to gun manufacturers.
   However, Davis said Corpus Christi area officials who oppose the litigation share the same opinion as a majority of the public. A December 1998 poll by DecisionQuest showed that 66 percent of Americans would oppose such lawsuits, while 19 percent would support them.
   According to a 1999 Scripps-Howard Texas Poll, a majority of Texans say cities and counties shouldn't be able to file lawsuits against gun manufacturers. Sixty-eight percent say local governments shouldn't file such lawsuits, 23 percent say they should and 9 percent don't know.
   "There's some big percentage of the population that supports gun control, but they want it done through legislation and not litigation," Davis said. "I think at first blush, people hear about the litigation and say this is ridiculous. As people get more sophisticated about the issues, opinions might change."
   Most local officials approach the gun control issue with caution, mentioning the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
   "I think, within reason, (gun control) is necessary," City Councilwoman Melody Cooper said. "We need to make sure we don't overstep our bounds and step on people's freedoms in an effort to attack the problem."
   Gun shows in question
   But local officials overwhelmingly said they support federal gun registration and having some kind of waiting period to buy a weapon at a gun show.
   "That's not for the protection of the guy who wants the gun. It's for the protection of the guy who he would use it against," Commissioner Frank Schwing said. "What's the emergency? Why would anybody in their right mind need a gun right now?"
   In Corpus Christi, three to four gun shows are held every year on city-owned property, City Manager David Garcia said. But six of the eight council members and Mayor Loyd Neal say they've never heard complaints about the practice.
   And while local officials say they support safety devices and training programs for gun owners, many expressed doubts that mandatory trigger locks would be effective in preventing accidental shootings.
   "I'm a little skeptical," said state Rep. Vilma Luna, D-Corpus Christi, a strong gun control advocate. "A times they have been proven to not be effective."
   Defending gun ownership
   Spitzer said politicians and residents in Texas, which has the most National Rifle Association members of any state, are more likely to defend gun ownership than residents of the Northeast and far West.
   "It's part of the Southern and Western frontier state identity," he said. "There's more of a gun culture and a gun tradition.
   Indeed, most local officials said gun control should focus on handguns and semiautomatic weapons - not on hunting rifles and shotguns.
   "I don't believe in trying to regulate the sports guns," said County Judge Richard Borchard. "I'm a hunter. The assault rifle in no way relates to hunting, though. There's no reason people need weapons like that."
   U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, said the emphasis on gun control should be in enforcing the law.
   "While we must take tough action to stop crime, that is best done by enacting stiffer penalties for criminals, not increased regulation of lawful gun owners," Ortiz said. "If we go to strict regulations on guns, only criminals will have guns."
   Death at the ballot box
   Sterling Burnett, senior policy analyst with National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas, said the gun control debate, especially in Texas, is much ado about nothing. More than 40 percent of all households in the United States have a gun, he said. That number is higher in Texas, he said.
   "The issue hits the agenda every time there's a shooting and it disappears just as quickly," Burnett said. "Gun control is not a winning issue. There is a dedicated minority who will turn out to vote against you if you run on a platform for gun control. It's enough to put a candidate over the top. Politicians don't want to alienate that crowd."



Staff writer Jennifer Stump can be reached at 886-3778 or by e-mail at stumpj@caller.com

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