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A BOSTON GLOBE EDITORIAL
A leader in gun safety
f all the different ways to make handguns less likely to be accidental killers, then-Attorney General Scott Harshbarger came up with one of the most ingenious in 1997. Massachusetts law, he said, gave him authority to regulate the safety of consumer items - such as guns. To pass muster, guns sold here would have to be built with trigger locks, child-safety devices, tamper-proof serial numbers, and indicators showing whether they are loaded. They couldn't be cheap, accident-prone Saturday Night Specials.
For three years, the gun makers fought the rules in court and lost. Last month, the deadline for a final legal appeal passed, and yesterday Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly announced that the rules are now in effect for all guns sold in Massachusetts, whether manufactured here or elsewhere.
At the least, the new rules should go far toward reducing Massachusetts' share of the 40,000 gun deaths that occur nationally each year. In 1996, 138 children under 14 died in gun accidents nationwide. A study by the General Accounting Office found that fully 30 percent of all accidental shootings could be prevented by indicators or devices making it more difficult for adults or children to fire inadvertently weapons they think are unloaded.
But the national impact of the Harshbarger-Reilly rules could be even greater. At least 30 other states have laws giving attorneys general powers similar to Reilly's. Once his counterparts see Massachusetts successfully setting safety standards, many will likely move in this direction, too.
Congress, in a customary kowtow to the gun lobby, has specifically exempted the firearms industry from regulation by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission. But if enough states follow Massachusetts' lead, such safety measures could become virtually standard nationwide.
Much besides safety measures must be done. Reilly is fending off legal challenges of the state's 1998 gun-control law that would, among other things, make gun owners responsible for the safe storage of their weapons. That law, combined with the safety rules, will make this state a leader in reforming Shooting Gallery America.
This story ran on page A22 of the Boston Globe on 4/4/2000.
© Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Almost everything that they are trying to make "illegal" via backdoor methods are already actionable through pre-existing liability, consumer protection, criminal law, and tort law. This is Law for Idiots. If you can't get someone convicted without getting every possible permutation of behavior covered by a statute, then you don't belong in the courtroom.
Massachusetts is quickly becoming "Massive Two Sh*ts"
(Oops the single malt is talking there).
A leader in gun safety
f all the different ways to make handguns less likely to be accidental killers, then-Attorney General Scott Harshbarger came up with one of the most ingenious in 1997. Massachusetts law, he said, gave him authority to regulate the safety of consumer items - such as guns. To pass muster, guns sold here would have to be built with trigger locks, child-safety devices, tamper-proof serial numbers, and indicators showing whether they are loaded. They couldn't be cheap, accident-prone Saturday Night Specials.
For three years, the gun makers fought the rules in court and lost. Last month, the deadline for a final legal appeal passed, and yesterday Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly announced that the rules are now in effect for all guns sold in Massachusetts, whether manufactured here or elsewhere.
At the least, the new rules should go far toward reducing Massachusetts' share of the 40,000 gun deaths that occur nationally each year. In 1996, 138 children under 14 died in gun accidents nationwide. A study by the General Accounting Office found that fully 30 percent of all accidental shootings could be prevented by indicators or devices making it more difficult for adults or children to fire inadvertently weapons they think are unloaded.
But the national impact of the Harshbarger-Reilly rules could be even greater. At least 30 other states have laws giving attorneys general powers similar to Reilly's. Once his counterparts see Massachusetts successfully setting safety standards, many will likely move in this direction, too.
Congress, in a customary kowtow to the gun lobby, has specifically exempted the firearms industry from regulation by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission. But if enough states follow Massachusetts' lead, such safety measures could become virtually standard nationwide.
Much besides safety measures must be done. Reilly is fending off legal challenges of the state's 1998 gun-control law that would, among other things, make gun owners responsible for the safe storage of their weapons. That law, combined with the safety rules, will make this state a leader in reforming Shooting Gallery America.
This story ran on page A22 of the Boston Globe on 4/4/2000.
© Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Almost everything that they are trying to make "illegal" via backdoor methods are already actionable through pre-existing liability, consumer protection, criminal law, and tort law. This is Law for Idiots. If you can't get someone convicted without getting every possible permutation of behavior covered by a statute, then you don't belong in the courtroom.
Massachusetts is quickly becoming "Massive Two Sh*ts"
(Oops the single malt is talking there).
