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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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time
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021389
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02138900.034
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1990-09-17
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NATION, Page 41American NotesGUN CONTROLStrict Liability
Since New Year's Day, Washington has seen 55 murders, and City
Council Chairman David Clarke has proposed a radical solution to
the wave of homicides. Last week he introduced a bill that would
further strengthen the city's tough gun-control laws by extending
a legal doctrine called "strict liability" to firearms. The law
would classify guns as inherently dangerous products whose
manufacturers and distributors can be held financially liable for
damages caused by their use -- prompting gun dealers to try to keep
their wares out of the wrong hands. The statute, says Clarke, "will
attempt to do through the handgun industry's pocketbooks what has
not been done through their consciences."
Since twelve of the 13 council members support the proposal,
it should pass easily. But the National Rifle Association plans to
use its lobbying muscle to persuade Congress, which can overrule
the council's decisions, to shoot down Clarke's plan. "It's another
attempt by the D.C. government to put the blame on somebody else
for its failure to deal with violent crime," says N.R.A. assistant
general counsel Richard Gardiner. A veto is no cinch: only twice
in the past 14 years has Congress vetoed a law enacted by the
district.