Possumblog

Not in the clamor of the crowded street, not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

REDIRECT ALERT! (Scroll down past this mess if you're trying to read an archived post. Thanks. No, really, thanks.)

Due to my inability to control my temper and complacently accept continued silliness with not-quite-as-reliable-as-it-ought-to-be Blogger/Blogspot, your beloved Possumblog will now waddle across the Information Dirt Road and park its prehensile tail at http://possumblog.mu.nu.

This site will remain in place as a backup in case Munuvia gets hit by a bus or something, but I don't think they have as much trouble with this as some places do. ::cough::blogspot::cough:: So click here and adjust your links. I apologize for the inconvenience, but it's one of those things.

Thursday, March 28, 2002

Boston drops lawsuit on guns
From the Boston Globe:

[...]Over the last three years, city lawyers spent close to half a million taxpayer dollars, took statements from dozens of gun industry executives, and gained access to hundreds of thousands of internal company documents.

But it became apparent in recent months that the case remained on shaky legal ground, said city officials. They worried that the judge would reject their theory that guns amounted to a public nuisance, similar to pollution, on which the city could set regulations and levy fines.

With legal costs spiraling, topping $30,000 per month, and the city's budget shrinking, officials decided they could no longer fight on.

''We came to a point where, with the financial situation in the city and state being what it is, we had to determine how to best use our funding,'' said John Auerbach, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, which handled the case.

[...] The city's lawsuit contended that gun makers negligently ignored signs that some area gun stores repeatedly made illegal sales, placing firearms in the hands of violent criminals. Other allegations included the failure to manufacture safer weapons; failure to adequately warn consumers about the risks of gun use; unjust profits at the expense of the public; and illegal marketing of guns to minors. The suit sought $100 million to recoup weapons-related costs to the city's police and fire departments, emergency services, schools, and hospitals.

If you're right, the cost should be secondary. Of course, that assumes that you're right.

If you really have damages of $100,000,000, seems like the $500,000 spent so far would be a bargain. Of course, that assumes that you really have damages.

Remember what Walter Mathau said in the Bad News Bears about ASS/U/ME.

posted by Terry at 11:10:00 AM

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