The gun control firefight in America exchanged more rounds several weeks ago when seven gun manufacturers and an industry association filed suit against the federal government, two states and 14 cities.
The suit, filed in U.S. federal court in Atlanta, charged that efforts to impose safety measures are a conspiracy that violate constitutional guarantees of free trade. Named in the suit were the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the attorneys general of New York and Connecticut and 14 cities.
The federal government, some states and cities have been using legal action to pressure the gun industry to make weapons safer.
In March, the feds dropped its threat of legal action against Smith & Wesson, the nation's biggest maker of handguns, after, among other concessions, the company agreed to install child-safety trigger locks and develop so-called "smart gun" technologies.
The manufacturers who filed suit were Beretta U.S.A. Corp., Browning Arms Inc., Colt's Manufacturing Inc., Glock Inc., SIG Arms Inc., Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. and Taurus International Manufacturing. The National Shooting Sports Foundation also filed suit.
—Dennis Hall, executive editor, Police
