At approximately 4PM today, May 14th, the Missouri House gave
final approval to SB013, the Frivolous Lawsuit Protection Act. Senate Bill
013 was introduced and sponsored in the Senate by Senator Peter Kinder [Senate Pro Tem] and handled in the House by LTC hero/sponsor
Representative Larry Crawford. SB013 was debated and truly agreed to and finally passed today by a vote
of 113-30... a "veto proof" margin. [Note: The actual recorded
count submitted to the journal may be different due to changed votes
and/or late additions.] As a reminder, the Senate passed this bill earlier
this year with a "veto proof" margin of 24 "yes" to 10
"no". [Thanks to Kerry Messer with Missouri Family Network for
providing the House vote information].
The House approved SB013 without amendments so it too will soon be ready
to put on the desk of Governor Holden for his action or inaction.
As a reminder, the Frivolous Lawsuit Protection Act will make it difficult
for anti-self-defense/anti-gun groups and politicians to use taxpayer
moneys to sue the manufacturers or distributors of firearms for acts committed by criminals.
Anti-gun, anti-self-defense groups like the Misinformed Moms, the Brady
Gun Ban Group and an anti-self-defense think tank known as the
"Violence Policy Center" have been trying for years to use the
civil courts to BANKRUPT firearm manufacturers and distributors for acts
committed by violent criminals.
Former VPC leader Josh Sugarmann confided to me years ago that the aim of
the lawsuit tactic is NOT necessarily to WIN the case. He stated that their
[anti-self-defense groups] goal was to file as many cases as possible. Each
case would require the manufacturer or distributor to hire legal counsel and
legal counsel is EXPENSIVE. One key part of the strategy was to use
city/county and even state attorneys to push the lawsuits. That way, the
anti-gun/anti-self-defense groups got to use YOUR TAX DOLLARS to fund their
attacks on firearm manufacturers and distributors.
For those who have not been paying attention to this particular attack,
here is how it would work and why you should pay attention.
Anti-self-defense/anti-gun groups file numerous lawsuits and drag
manufacturers and distributors into court.
The Anti groups use public attorneys that are paid with YOUR TAX DOLLARS
to keep the lawsuits going [a bottomless supply of funds out of YOUR wallet].
Since the manufacturers/distributors have to pay their own way, legal fees
stack up and finally, one after the other, manufacturers and distributors
quit doing business because the cannot FINANCIALLY keep up with the legal
fees.
If all or even several of the manufacturers or distributors go bankrupt,
whom will you buy your guns or ammunition from?
That is the GOAL of these lawsuits. They are NOT intended to get
"justice" for an "injured" party. The bulk of these
lawsuits are DESIGNED to use YOUR money to BANKRUPT the people who make,
distribute and sell YOU your firearm and ammunition. If the anti-gun
groups succeed in bankrupting these folks, you do not need a
"gun ban" law because no one will make them. You will not need
a "ban"" on ammunition because no one will sell it.
If no one is making firearms/ammunition or selling them because they might
get sued, there is NO SECOND AMENDMENT issue.
That is why the Frivolous Lawsuit Protection Act SB013 is IMPORTANT.
This bill, if it becomes law will help prevent this abuse of the public
trust and public treasury on the part of anti-gun/anti-self-defense attorneys.
This bill will NOT prevent anyone from suing a manufacturer or distributor
for a legitimate defect in a firearm product or component.
Check out our website at www.gclastl.org for a list of who
voted for SB013. The list will be posted soon.
RECAP OF 2003 TO DATE.
This has been a HISTORIC year for Missouri!
On May 5th, 2003, the House "truly agreed to and finally passed"
SS HS HCS HB349 et al [License-to-Carry reform]. This is the first time a
LTC bill has been approved by both the House and Senate and ready to be
put on the Governor's desk for his action.
On May 14th, 2003, the House "truly agreed to and finally
passed" SB013 [Frivolous Lawsuit Protection Act] and is also ready to
be put on Governor Holden´s desk for his action.
A QUICK UPDATE ON GOVERNOR HOLDEN AND LTC
Governor Holden is getting a plate full of bills that he is threatening to
veto. Your phone calls, emails, faxes, letters and personal visits to the
Capitol are IMPORTANT.
Right now we are not sure if Governor Holden will veto SS HS HCS HB349 or
not. We need to keep the pressure on so if you have not contacted Governor
Holden to voice your support for turning HB349 into Missouri LAW... what
are you waiting for???? CONTACT Governor Holden TODAY!!!
Governor Bob Holden
Missouri Capitol Building, Room 216
PO Box 720
Jefferson City, Missouri 65102
Missouri Phone Numbers
Telephone: (573) 751-3222
Fax: (573) 751-1495
Email: mogov@mail.state.mo.us
We are also making plans and preparing actions just in case he DOES veto
the bill. So stay tuned and get ACTIVE TODAY. Join GCLA, MPS or WMSA and
get involved.
Greg Jeffery
Legislative Chairman
Gateway Civil Liberties Alliance
Legislative Coordinator
Missourians for Personal Safety
Part-time Designated Spokesman
Western Missouri Shooters Alliance
IF you have not signed up for our Grass Roots Action Network email list,
please do so today. Don´t forget that you can see our alerts, our
newsletters and other pertinent information on the struggle to enact
License-to-Carry legislation for Missouri by visiting our website at: www.gclastl.org or the website of other state grassroots groups such as MPS at: www.moccw.org and WMSA at: www.wmsa.net and MSSA at: www.safewithguns.org.
