Gun Control: Strict Liability

Strict Liability

Since New Year's Day, Washington has seen 55 murders, and City Council Chairman David Clarke has proposed a radical solution to the wave of homicides. Last week he introduced a bill that would further strengthen the city's tough gun-control laws by extending a legal doctrine called "strict liability" to firearms. The law would classify guns as inherently dangerous products whose manufacturers and distributors can be held financially liable for damages caused by their use -- prompting gun dealers to try to keep their wares out of the wrong hands. The statute, says Clarke, "will attempt to do through the handgun industry's...

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