Word: tobacco
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Lawsuits that essentially punish tobacco companies for selling cigarettes and gun manufacturers for selling guns violate this balance. The movement to litigation stems from frustration with an inability to expand current tobacco and gun control legislation. The current suits represent a blatant attempt to circumvent proper legislative procedure...
...that in selling guns that ultimately end up being used in murders, gun manufacturers violate a written law and can thus be held responsible for the murders in which the guns are used. However, on both a federal and state level, legislatures have explicitly legalized both the sale of tobacco products and firearms, outlining in law which guns and tobacco products can and cannot be sold...
...tobacco suits seem to have a somewhat stronger base at first; it is the product itself, not misuse by its owner, that causes real bodily harm. Still, legislatures aware of the harmful side effects of tobacco products have intentionally refrained from outlawing tobacco distribution, despite prohibitions on other unhealthy drugs such as cocaine, heroine or marijuana. Furthermore, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations regarding tobacco production specify which products can be legally distributed. Thus, any decision finding criminal fault in production of products that meet these established standards directly contradicts--or perhaps I should say circumvents--the existing...
...lawsuits filed against tobacco companies side step this obstacle by pretending to address the long-term effects of tobacco products rather than production. Such pretenses rely on the faulty assumption that the two are legally separable. Because long term health costs are taken into consideration when the FDA establishes its regulations and guidelines, such a rhetorical handstand rests on a pretty weak base. By the same logic behind these arguments, alcohol companies could be held legally liable for alcoholism and all of its ill-effects. Anheuser Busch, Coors and the rest of the industry could be made to help foot...
...than Texas cattle ranchers and McDonald's, but the threats they pose are legally sanctioned. Certainly something is wrong when companies profit from the death and misery of others, but in this case the problem is legislative, not criminal. Clearly, the obvious flaws in our nation's gun and tobacco policies need to be addressed. But undermining the authority of elected legislatures is an unacceptable solution. Joshua S. Carson '02 lives in Thayer Hall...