We certainly seem to talk a lot about Connecticut here.
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December 2 -- Connecticut, sue thyself. Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal keeps Schuming up headlines by boosting lawsuits against gun manufacturers; he's filed an amicus brief to support Bridgeport's suit, and threatened to make his state the first of the fifty to join various big-city mayors in seeking to recover the costs of shootings. One especially ironic aspect of his aggressive role is that the very same state government he represents has itself been involved quite recently and deeply in promoting the manufacture of firearms. In 1990, the state was so concerned that the Colt Mfg. Company might close its doors that it invested $25 million in state workers' pension fund money to finance a bailout plan.
The investment proved disastrous, with the state losing all but $4 million of its outlay, and the fiasco played a major role in discrediting the then-popular idea of "social investment" of pension funds. There's no doubt, however, that both its intended and actual result was to ensure the production of more guns by Colt -- some of which inevitably found their way onto the scene of accidental or deliberate shootings. Nor did the state use its dominant financial position in the deal to attach many of the kinds of strings to gun distribution that the suits now blame gunmakers for not attaching. We eagerly await the Nutmeg State's lawsuit against itself.
Connoisseurs of irony will also enjoy learning about the subsequent job history of then-Connecticut state treasurer Francisco Borges, who was a leading figure in the Colt pension-investment debacle. Mr. Borges has now moved on to become treasurer of none other than the National Association of Colored People, which has filed a much-publicized lawsuit against gun makers. The NAACP presumably should not be expected to add Mr. Borges to its list of named defendants, given that, if it obtains a cash settlement for its complaint, it will be putting him in charge of spending the resulting windfall.
Sources: Diane Scarponi, "Blumenthal supports Bridgeport's lawsuit against gunmakers," AP/Danbury, Ct. News-Times, Sept. 8; Marc L. Kaplan and Salo L. Zelermyer, "Conflict and Interest: An Analysis of the President’s Social Security Proposal", National Taxpayers Union Foundation Issue Brief #109; Eric V. Schlecht, "Government-Sponsored Gun Lawsuits By The Numbers -- Five Things You Probably Didn’t Know, But Should", NTUF Issue Brief #118; Statement of Maureen Baronian, House Subcommittee on Social Security, March 3, 1999.
[This message has been edited by jimpeel (edited December 03, 1999).]
[This message has been edited by jimpeel (edited December 03, 1999).]
This from:
http://overlawyered.com
File:
http://overlawyered.com/archives/99dec1.html#991202a
<start>
December 2 -- Connecticut, sue thyself. Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal keeps Schuming up headlines by boosting lawsuits against gun manufacturers; he's filed an amicus brief to support Bridgeport's suit, and threatened to make his state the first of the fifty to join various big-city mayors in seeking to recover the costs of shootings. One especially ironic aspect of his aggressive role is that the very same state government he represents has itself been involved quite recently and deeply in promoting the manufacture of firearms. In 1990, the state was so concerned that the Colt Mfg. Company might close its doors that it invested $25 million in state workers' pension fund money to finance a bailout plan.
The investment proved disastrous, with the state losing all but $4 million of its outlay, and the fiasco played a major role in discrediting the then-popular idea of "social investment" of pension funds. There's no doubt, however, that both its intended and actual result was to ensure the production of more guns by Colt -- some of which inevitably found their way onto the scene of accidental or deliberate shootings. Nor did the state use its dominant financial position in the deal to attach many of the kinds of strings to gun distribution that the suits now blame gunmakers for not attaching. We eagerly await the Nutmeg State's lawsuit against itself.
Connoisseurs of irony will also enjoy learning about the subsequent job history of then-Connecticut state treasurer Francisco Borges, who was a leading figure in the Colt pension-investment debacle. Mr. Borges has now moved on to become treasurer of none other than the National Association of Colored People, which has filed a much-publicized lawsuit against gun makers. The NAACP presumably should not be expected to add Mr. Borges to its list of named defendants, given that, if it obtains a cash settlement for its complaint, it will be putting him in charge of spending the resulting windfall.
Sources: Diane Scarponi, "Blumenthal supports Bridgeport's lawsuit against gunmakers," AP/Danbury, Ct. News-Times, Sept. 8; Marc L. Kaplan and Salo L. Zelermyer, "Conflict and Interest: An Analysis of the President’s Social Security Proposal", National Taxpayers Union Foundation Issue Brief #109; Eric V. Schlecht, "Government-Sponsored Gun Lawsuits By The Numbers -- Five Things You Probably Didn’t Know, But Should", NTUF Issue Brief #118; Statement of Maureen Baronian, House Subcommittee on Social Security, March 3, 1999.
[This message has been edited by jimpeel (edited December 03, 1999).]
[This message has been edited by jimpeel (edited December 03, 1999).]
