<\/p>\n

Today, in response to the UCC shootings, Hillary Clinton resurrected that old chestnut, making gun manufacturers liable for the misuse of their legal product. \u00a0She would allow the families of murder victims whose killers used a gun to sue the gun manufacturer for damages.<\/p>\n

It’s a gun ban by another name, since no manufacturer would be able to afford the liability insurance required to stay in business. \u00a0And if you think this would end with the manufacture of guns, think again. \u00a0Gun ranges, gunsmiths, gun retailers (who are federally-licensed) would soon find themselves covered, making the transfer, sale, and repair of firearms effectively illegal.<\/p>\n

The proposal is silly on the face of it. \u00a0Guns can be used for many purposes, almost all of them lawful, safe, and beneficial. \u00a0Guns are used for self-defense in this country every day. \u00a0As has been repeatedly mentioned, even as gun ownership has soared, crime rates, including the murder rate by guns,<\/em> has plummeted.<\/p>\n

But as long as we’re at it, let’s understand that while slightly fewer than half\u00a0murderers use handguns<\/a>, many use knives or blunt objects such as hammers. \u00a0If the goal is to reduce actual murder, rather than to simply get guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens, we should, by logic, allow the families of murder victims whose killers used hammers or steak knives to sue those manufacturers, as well. \u00a0In 2014, 71\u00a0people were murdered by\u00a0fire. \u00a0We should then allow those families to sue match manufacturers.<\/p>\n

Eighty-nine people were murdered by strangulation<\/a>. \u00a0Strangling someone with one’s bare hands is hard; an object is usually used. \u00a0Clearly, the manufacturers of electrical cord, rope, belts, and other clothing should be liable.<\/p>\n

In Israel, Palestinians have recently taken to driving cars into Jews standing at bus stops. \u00a0Were such a practice to become common here, the auto manufacturers should be held liable, as well.<\/p>\n

Obviously, the economy would grind to a halt within minutes of such laws being passed, indeed, long before they actually became law, as retailers and manufacturers scrambled to get out of these suddenly-risky businesses. \u00a0But in principle, there’s nothing different between holding Ginsu responsible for the murderer who uses its kitchen knife and Glock responsible for the breakdown of social order in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Despite having lost the gun control debate, Democrats holding and running for the White House continue to try to make a partisan issue out it. \u00a0The issue always fades away because the media and the Washington Democrats never learn that this isn’t a partisan issue anymore, with most Americans resisting new gun laws.<\/p>\n

There are three former<\/em> state senators here in Colorado who could remind them, though.
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