Economic and Causation Issues in City Suits Against Gun Manufacturers

Abstract

I recently heard Ted Turner speak and he said that when he used to make presentations at college campuses around the country on nuclear disarmament, he would ask, "How many of you would like to die in a nuclear holocaust?" He reported that no hands were ever raised.

How many of you would like to have your children shot? The United States is the most violent democratic country in the world. One child dies every 92 minutes from gunshots, an average of over 15 children each day. Approximately 35,000 people perish from gunfire every year. There were 9,390 gun-related homicides in the United States in 1996, but only 30 in Great Britain and 15 in Japan. This epidemic of violence has been largely ignored by American society until recently when numerous cities filed suits against gun manufacturers.' The focus of this article is the economic implications of the suits, as wells as the cause in fact and proximate cause issues that the city suits will face.