MARYLAND'S HIGHEST COURT RULES GUN MAKER NOT LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE . . .
Reaffirming decisions from two lower courts, the Maryland Court of Appeals
has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against Sturm, Ruger & Company in a
case that sought to find the gun maker responsible for the accidental
shooting death of a three-year-old Baltimore child. In absolving the
company of liability, the court rejected the claim that the firearm was
"defective" or "malfunctioned," concluding instead that the shooting was
caused by the "carelessness" of the child's father who left the firearm
unsecured and accessible "in contravention not only of common sense but of
multiple warnings given to him at the time of purchase." The case,
according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, points out the
continuing need of parental responsibility in firearm ownership. "This
tragic accident was caused by the failure of a firearm's owner to act in a
safe and responsible manner by following the most basic firearms safety
messages and warnings provided to him by the manufacturer and the retailer
that sold him the firearm," said Lawrence G. Keane, vice president and
general counsel of NSSF. The suit is among a number of cases filed by the
Brady Center (formerly Handgun Control, Inc.) that attempt to hold the
firearm industry legally responsible for the criminal or negligent use of
its products by others.