The State Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill aimed at protecting manufacturers of guns and ammunition from lawsuits. Anti-gun activists have taken to suing these manufacturers for damages caused by criminals who use weapons during the commission of crimes. Senate Leader Peter Kinder of Cape Girardeau aims to end the practice in Missouri. His bill prohibits political subdivisions, as well as the state, from instituting a lawsuit against any firearms or ammunition manufacturer relating to the design, marketing, manufacture, distribution, or sale to the public. Kinder says it is wrong for anyone philosophically opposed to a legal business to be able to sue that business in the courts. He points out his bill does nothing to prevent victims of illegal activity or negligence from suing. The bill needs one more positive vote in the Senate before it can move to the House.
