Wednesday, August 18, 1999
City being sued for suing gunmakers
BY ANNE MICHAUD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Activists who want Cincinnati to drop its lawsuit against handgun manufacturers, having failed to persuade a majority on City Council, are taking their case to the courts.
Cincinnati lawyer and conservative activist David Langdon said he will initiate a lawsuit today to halt the city's attempt to recover the costs of gun-related violence.
Cincinnati has joined 25 U.S. cities and counties and the NAACP in suing handgun makers.
“It's an absolute misuse of public funds,” Mr. Langdon said. “There is no basis in law for a suit like this to be filed.”
Tom Brinkman Jr. of Mount Lookout, an anti-tax activist, is the taxpayer filing the suit.
“It just seems to be another wrong-directed lawsuit costing us thousands of dollars,” Mr. Brinkman said.
They must initiate their action by sending a letter today to the city solicitor. The taxpayers suit will claim the city's action violates the Second Amendment to the Constitution, the right to bear arms, and that the city has no standing to sue on behalf of crime victims.
In April, City Council voted 5-4 to file suit in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, alleging handgun manufacturers market and advertise guns in a manner that makes them readily available for illegal use.
As a city, the lawsuit claims, Cincinnati pays for handgun violence through unreimbursed medical costs of treating gunshot victims, costs of emergen cy services, police protection, court costs and lost tax revenue.
City Council is meeting today in a closed session with its attorney, Stanley Chesley, one of the nation's premier product liability lawyers.
The Hamilton County Republican Party wants the session opened. The party said Councilman Paul Booth, a Democrat, has sent mixed signals on the purpose of the meeting and his position. Mr. Booth voted to pursue the lawsuit; the three council Republicans opposed it.
Councilman Booth “should let public see whether he's flipping, or flopping,” said a news release the party issued Tuesday.
Mr. Booth said he wants a status report on the case and does not plan to change his vote.
Ohio's open-meetings law allows public bodies to speak with their attorneys in private to guard legal strategies.
Councilman Charlie Winburn, who opposed the city's lawsuit, said he has been trying to persuade Mr. Booth to change his vote.
“I have been trying to do that with Paul Booth, and Paul is our only hope right now,” Mr. Winburn said.
Recent published reports say two major gun makers are negotiating with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer over a similar lawsuit.
“There's clearly an interest among gun manufacturers, at least some of them, to negotiate some resolution,” Mr. Chesley said.
Troubled son's letters gave warning
3 still missing after river wreck
'New grade' proposed to help poor readers
Gilligan to run for board of education
Pete Rose Way exit closed on I-75 south
Boy falls through apartment floor
City being sued by for suing gunmakers
Fixes on the way for tent jail
Police: Drug ring was near school
Tall Stacks to include tours of old homes
Faithful gather for Dalai Lama
Man found in cave, fearing meteor
Murder suspect accuses victim of break-in
Police patrol Boone schools
Shuttlesworth biography a civil rights story
Another book shows Shuttlesworth work
Don't expect school officials to catch kids' problems
Talk to the professionals
'Hard-news person' on the job at Channel 5
Dry summer unlikely to slow ragweed's effect
GET TO IT
How to help Turkey earthquake victimsc
UC prof's family escapes earthquake
Blood shortage eases - for now
Butler church makes case for teen home
CDC to help city learn from heat-related deaths
County debates cost of taking money for security
CPS considers 9 proposals for charter schools
Exposed asbestos slows Colonial Inn demolition
Funding stands test of recount
Indiana transfer students can cash in
Kenton seeking help in buyout of property
Mount Healthy asking for lower levy for fire service
New Miami to vote on school expansion
Patton: Paducah plant now OK
Pay fishing lake plan hits snag
Police identify body found in shed
250 raise stink over Gray Rd. landfill
School readies projects for year
TRISTATE DIGEST
Video store owner's conviction overturned
