New York gun suit

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Around the nation: New York gun suit

In 2006, the city of New York sued 27 small gun retailers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina, claiming that their illegal gun sales and lax screening practices created a public nuisance in the city. Recently, the last of the 27 defendants reached an out-of-court settlement with the city. In the settlement, the holdout agreed to tougher rules for selling guns based on the stricter standards Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest gun seller, adopted earlier this year in a voluntary agreement with a group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

What impact might the Wal-Mart code have on the potential liability of gun retailers in general? A case taught in torts class in every law school may shed some light on the subject. In 1932, what is known as “The T.J. Hooper case” involved the loss of tugs and barges at sea because the tugs where not outfitted with radio receivers which would have enabled them to receive a weather-warning broadcast by the weather service. Had they received the warning they would have sought shelter. In 1932, radio receivers were new and most tugs did not have them. The decision rendered by the great jurist Learned Hand held that the lack of radio receivers was the direct cause of the loss of the tugs and barges. The case has been interpreted as where the custom and usage of an entire industry is below the standard of reasonable care, it cannot be used as a defense. In other words, the Wal-Mart code may set the new standard for custom and usage for the retailing of firearms.

http://archive.patriotpost.us/pub/08-39_Digest/page-5.php#around-the-nation-new-york-gun-suit
 
It worked out fairly well for Bob Moates, better than the ones who caved in to Bloomberg. He owns 3 stores 2 of which are within 10 miles of me. Here's the lowdown I got from the VCDL.

While the title of this alert might cause gun owners to have
heartburn, in fact Bob Moates walked away with not only minor changes
to how he does business, but with a new and expensive security system
paid for by New York tax payers! The agreement is NOTHING like what
the now defunct Cole's Sporting Goods agreed to when they caved into
Bloomberg's pressure early on.

With help from VCDL and its membership, Bob stood up to Bloomberg
longer than any of the other gun dealers that were being sued.

Both sides avoided going to court by coming to a very different
agreement than the other gun stores that Bloomberg was suing.
Bloomberg probably realized that his suit against Bob Moates wasn't
going anywhere fast and the pot was sweetened to bring the lawsuit to
an end.

Here are the Cliff's Notes on Bob's agreement with Bloomberg:

* There is nothing in the agreement that would give New York City any
access to Bob Moates's customer information.

* There is NO Special Master watching over Bob and having access to
Bob's paperwork and security tapes.

* There is NO bond, which will help Bob's cash flow.

* The security system, which improves significantly on what Bob
currently has, will allow Bob to keep his security surveillance video
for six months. NOTE: the video is NOT being turned over to anyone.
The purpose of the video is to deter criminals and to monitor
employees. I assume that BATFE and VSP could view the tape in the
event that a straw purchase is traced within the six-month retention
cycle.

Much of what's in the agreement doesn't change how Bob does business,
except for these items:

* Bob will be given a computer system that will provide him with
information on gun used in crimes that are traced to his store.
Before a sale, Bob can check to see if a customer had previously
purchased a gun that turned up in a trace and, if so, Bob can decide
if he will let the current sale proceed or not. If Bob decides to
continue with the sale, he will have a form that the customer will
have to sign that makes sure the customer understands what a straw
purchase is and the customer will declare that he or she is making a
legal purchase. The form will be kept for a year.

* Bob will have a machine that will verify that customer supplied ID
is valid. The machine will NOT keep any information about the sale
itself, but will just make sure the ID is not forged, etc.

* New York will supply a training program for Bob's employees to help
them detect illegal sales.

* Bob will post special signage that alerts customers to their legal
responsibilities and to inform customers that there is video
surveillance in the store.

--
 
It's disturbing how some of these companies and/or their employees make up their own rules for selling guns. I bought a rifle at Walmart several years ago and they insisted that the entire state of residence be printed in the block on the 4473. The block was intended for the state abreviation and sized appropriately.

On another occasion, I was going to purchase a nice little 204 at Scheels and they decided that since my address on drivers license and CCW card were not current, they wouldn't sell me the gun. The Sheriffs office and DMV WILL NOT issue another card until expired. The correct address is in the data base therefore, it is a legal transaction per the sheriffs department detective in charge of the CCW permits. Needless to say I can't/won't buy guns from scheels.
 
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