Ah, the shoe is on the other foot, "It's the camel's nose under the tent," Webb said.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/leg/leg0506a.htm
Webb vows court fight if state bans gun suits
By Mike Soraghan
Denver Post Capitol Bureau
May 6 - Denver Mayor Wellington Webb is threatening to take the state to court if Gov. Bill Owens signs a bill banning negligence suits against the gun industry.
Webb says the city doesn't want to sue gun makers or gun dealers, just protect its right to sue whom it wants.
"It's the camel's nose under the tent,"
Webb said Friday. "If you start prohibiting our authority to conduct our own affairs, you'll do it in other areas. If he does sign it, we would go to court and challenge it."
The bill, House Bill 1208, was passed by both chambers of the Legislature and is currently on Owens' desk.
Webb said he has spoken personally with Owens about the bill and asked him to veto it. The legislative sponsors of the bill expect him to sign it, but Owens has not said what he plans to do.
"Gov. Owens is still contemplating his decision on that bill," said Owens spokesman Dick Wadhams. He declined to comment further on the threat of a lawsuit.
Owens last year vetoed a similar bill, but not necessarily because he opposed it. He said the timing was inappropriate after the Columbine High School massacre.
He has said he dislikes the spate of lawsuits filed by cities against gun manufacturers, but has never given a position on any of the anti-lawsuit bills.
Rep. Lauri Clapp, the Englewood Republican who sponsored the bill, said she thinks the city would lose in court.
"I think it would withstand any kind of lawsuit," Clapp said. "I think it's constitutional and I think it's good law." The idea behind the bill is to block anyone in Colorado, especially a city like Denver, from adding to the 29 lawsuits that have been filed against the gun industry by cities and counties.
The National Rifle Association calls those
"junk lawsuits" and has heavily lobbied states to get them to block the suits.
At least 14 states have passed lawsuit bans, and the NRA says none of them have been tossed out in court.
NRA spokesman Bill Powers said Webb is too eager to file suit.
"This let's-sue-everybody mentality is wearing thin on people in this country," Powers said.
Webb says it is unconstitutional for the state to ban lawsuits by cities, because
"home rule" powers in the constitution give cities the right to "sue and be sued."
Democratic Attorney General Ken Salazar issued an opinion that last year's bill to ban lawsuits was unconstitutional because it interfered with that right.
The legislation was rewritten this year to block anyone from suing, not just cities.
The overhaul was done in part to avoid singling out cities and also to prevent cities from recruiting citizen plaintiffs, Clapp said. Salazar said Friday that he has not reviewed this year's legislation, but his office does plan to look at it.
Webb says it's still unconstitutional.
"I don't care how it's written," Webb said.
"I know who it's aimed at."
Copyright 2000 The Denver Post.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/leg/leg0506a.htm
Webb vows court fight if state bans gun suits
By Mike Soraghan
Denver Post Capitol Bureau
May 6 - Denver Mayor Wellington Webb is threatening to take the state to court if Gov. Bill Owens signs a bill banning negligence suits against the gun industry.
Webb says the city doesn't want to sue gun makers or gun dealers, just protect its right to sue whom it wants.
"It's the camel's nose under the tent,"
Webb said Friday. "If you start prohibiting our authority to conduct our own affairs, you'll do it in other areas. If he does sign it, we would go to court and challenge it."
The bill, House Bill 1208, was passed by both chambers of the Legislature and is currently on Owens' desk.
Webb said he has spoken personally with Owens about the bill and asked him to veto it. The legislative sponsors of the bill expect him to sign it, but Owens has not said what he plans to do.
"Gov. Owens is still contemplating his decision on that bill," said Owens spokesman Dick Wadhams. He declined to comment further on the threat of a lawsuit.
Owens last year vetoed a similar bill, but not necessarily because he opposed it. He said the timing was inappropriate after the Columbine High School massacre.
He has said he dislikes the spate of lawsuits filed by cities against gun manufacturers, but has never given a position on any of the anti-lawsuit bills.
Rep. Lauri Clapp, the Englewood Republican who sponsored the bill, said she thinks the city would lose in court.
"I think it would withstand any kind of lawsuit," Clapp said. "I think it's constitutional and I think it's good law." The idea behind the bill is to block anyone in Colorado, especially a city like Denver, from adding to the 29 lawsuits that have been filed against the gun industry by cities and counties.
The National Rifle Association calls those
"junk lawsuits" and has heavily lobbied states to get them to block the suits.
At least 14 states have passed lawsuit bans, and the NRA says none of them have been tossed out in court.
NRA spokesman Bill Powers said Webb is too eager to file suit.
"This let's-sue-everybody mentality is wearing thin on people in this country," Powers said.
Webb says it is unconstitutional for the state to ban lawsuits by cities, because
"home rule" powers in the constitution give cities the right to "sue and be sued."
Democratic Attorney General Ken Salazar issued an opinion that last year's bill to ban lawsuits was unconstitutional because it interfered with that right.
The legislation was rewritten this year to block anyone from suing, not just cities.
The overhaul was done in part to avoid singling out cities and also to prevent cities from recruiting citizen plaintiffs, Clapp said. Salazar said Friday that he has not reviewed this year's legislation, but his office does plan to look at it.
Webb says it's still unconstitutional.
"I don't care how it's written," Webb said.
"I know who it's aimed at."
Copyright 2000 The Denver Post.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.