Article
Brazil's biggest gun maker under fire from rights group
07/27/2000
Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Enlisting the help of U.S. lawyers, a human rights group has filed suit against Brazil's largest manufacturer of handguns, accusing the company of failing to control gun sales.
One of the American attorneys, Elisa Barnes, successfully sued gun maker Taurus International in a Brooklyn federal court. Another, Julie Dugan, is advising attorneys in similar suits across the United States.
The two lawyers met Wednesday with Brazilian attorneys for the Viva Rio human rights group and will advise them in their case against Taurus International, which has its main plant in Brazil and a subsidiary in Miami.
A study financed by Viva Rio and the Rio de Janeiro state government showed that nearly half the guns seized by Rio's police are manufactured by Taurus International.
Viva Rio is seeking unspecified damages against Taurus on grounds that the company was negligent in failing to control the distribution of its guns in Brazil.
The suit is part of a broader campaign to curb rampant violence in Rio de Janeiro, a city of 6 million. Official figures show that Rio's metropolitan area has 69 slayings annually for every 100,000 residents, a rate that is among the highest in the world.
Taurus International in Brazil said it would not comment.
Brazil's biggest gun maker under fire from rights group
07/27/2000
Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Enlisting the help of U.S. lawyers, a human rights group has filed suit against Brazil's largest manufacturer of handguns, accusing the company of failing to control gun sales.
One of the American attorneys, Elisa Barnes, successfully sued gun maker Taurus International in a Brooklyn federal court. Another, Julie Dugan, is advising attorneys in similar suits across the United States.
The two lawyers met Wednesday with Brazilian attorneys for the Viva Rio human rights group and will advise them in their case against Taurus International, which has its main plant in Brazil and a subsidiary in Miami.
A study financed by Viva Rio and the Rio de Janeiro state government showed that nearly half the guns seized by Rio's police are manufactured by Taurus International.
Viva Rio is seeking unspecified damages against Taurus on grounds that the company was negligent in failing to control the distribution of its guns in Brazil.
The suit is part of a broader campaign to curb rampant violence in Rio de Janeiro, a city of 6 million. Official figures show that Rio's metropolitan area has 69 slayings annually for every 100,000 residents, a rate that is among the highest in the world.
Taurus International in Brazil said it would not comment.