Chad Lewis answered a knock at the door of his Sacramento County, Calif., home late one night and was attacked by a frightening figure. The home invader, wearing a ski mask and armed with a metal pipe, struck Lewis repeatedly on the upper body and head. Lewis' roommate was recovering from knee surgery and could not physically assist him, but managed to call 9-1-1 and get hold of his rifle, as he feared Lewis would be killed in the attack. Meanwhile, Lewis broke free from his assailant and retrieved a handgun from his bedroom. A struggle ensued over the gun, but Lewis was finally able to pull free and shoot his attacker. When authorities arrived, both Lewis and the intruder were taken to the hospital. Lewis' condition was serious, and his attacker was in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head. (The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, CA, 03/05/03)

Teresa Castellano and her 6-year-old daughter, Alysa, were visiting Alysa's friend, Kaitlyn, at her home when terror erupted inside. The girls were watching TV and began laughing loudly at something they had seen. The abrupt laughter apparently startled the dogs in the house, which began growling and barking. Sensing the two rottweilers and pit bull were not playing around, Castellano tried to get the girls to be quiet, but the dogs attacked them, biting Kaitlyn and Alysa. Castellano was able to distract the dogs, which allowed the girls time to run to safety at a neighbor's house, but by then Castellano herself was being attacked. Two neighbors armed with handguns fired on the dogs to get them to release the woman. One of the armed men was bitten in the leg during the struggle. One dog was killed, and the other two retreated back into the house. Authorities found one dog wounded and the other lying on the floor inside. They were taken to a local animal shelter and later euthanized. Castellano and her daughter each required 100 stitches to close their wounds, and Kaitlyn needed 20 stitches. (The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, FL, 02/01/03)

Three men, posing as police officers, broke through a door of a home near Lansing, Mich., intent on robbery, according to authorities. When the intruders began shooting, a female resident returned fire, hitting one of the men in the back. The woman was treated for superficial wounds and released from the hospital. The intruder she shot appeared to have suffered a severe spine injury said Saginaw Police Detective Sgt. Mark Lively. Police were continuing their search for the two remaining suspects. (The Saginaw News, Saginaw, MI, 01/31/03)

Kenneth Maloney, a 79-year-old stamp and coin dealer, has had his Torrance, Calif., shop robbed several times, the most recent occurrence leaving him with welts on his temple and wrist where the robber had struck him. This time, the owner of Mr. Muldoon's Stamps and Coins fought back and shot the armed, would-be robber in the hip. "He picked the wrong guy to go in there and stick up," said David Wells, a Torrance resident and occasional visitor to the store. Torrance police Lt. Patrick Shortall reported that the robber was booked at the local medical center's jail ward. (Daily Breeze, Torrance, CA, 02/21/03)

Charles Leon Downen, owner of Downen Oil Co., was in his business office one morning with his grandson (and employee), Charles Randall Downen, when two men entered and asked to use the restroom. When the men returned, one grabbed the elder Downen, put a gun to his head and said, "This is a robbery." The business owner struggled with the attacker, later identified as Troy Williams, to gain control of the gun. It went off, striking Williams. His accomplice, Phillip Williams, then ran from the store with Downen's grandson chasing after him with a .45-cal. handgun. Sergeant Alan Quattlebaum of the police department's homicide division reported that Phillip Williams "had a rifle down the leg of his pants." Phillip Williams and the younger Downen exchanged fire in the parking lot. When police arrived, Downen's grandson was holding Phillip Williams at gunpoint on the ground. Both suspects were pronounced dead. The Downens were unharmed in the incident. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Little Rock, AR, 02/18/03)

A man armed with a knife approached Wanda Petty in the Merita Bread Bakery Outlet and demanded money from the business owner. Petty's husband, James, was working in a back room when the commotion started. When the would-be bandit heard James Petty in the store, he ran toward him. Petty then shot the suspect twice with his handgun. The suspect, Larry Thomas Young, was charged with attempted aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and violation of parole. (News-Sentinel, Knoxville, TN, 02/23/03)

When Kristen Rand of the Violence Policy Center appeared last year before Congress opposing any legislative tort reforms to stop junk litigation aimed at bankrupting the firearm industry, she cited a 1996 Ohio decision under which "a gun show promoter was held liable for injuries inflicted by two teenagers who had stolen weapons from his event."

To emphasize her case against legislation designed to curb such lawsuits, she detailed the conduct of the "boys" at the January 1992 gun show and immediately afterwards. "[O]nce inside, the boys began stealing firearms .... One boy stole a .25 pistol. Another took two handguns ... they departed for the home of one of the boys. There, they inhaled gasoline fumes. They then decided to break into cars parked along the street. Discovering a car with keys, they took the car. When it began to snow, they began purposely sliding the car into trash cans for amusement." She said a witness ... approached the crashed stolen car after the "boys" lost control. "One of the boys fired at him, shooting him twice." The man was paralyzed. It was a tragedy.

But for the horrendous acts of these juvenile criminals—substance abusers, gun thieves, car thieves, vandals, and attempted murderers—a gun show promoter with no connection to them other than being their victim was sued and forced by the courts to pay the price.

Rand tried to convince the members of U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin's (D-La.) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection that this kind of tortured legal decision—punishing people for the unrelated criminal conduct of third parties—is a good thing, good for America. The committee didn't buy it. The vast majority of judges don't buy it. And the American people don't buy it.

To date, 33 lawsuits have been filed by big-city machine politicians with the help of contingency-fee trial lawyers. Most of these suits have been dismissed—without merit— but they just keep coming. This legal assault is manipulated by gun control advocates who would have their defeats in the halls of legislatures replaced with private victories proclaimed by courts. Brady Campaign (Handgun Control, Inc.) lawyers claim major roles in a majority of these tort actions.

The question of the legal fee bleed-out of industry was raised by U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Co.) in an exchange with Jeff Reh, General Counsel to Beretta USA. The Congresswoman asked, "And have you had to pay out anything on the lawsuits?" Reh answered that it amounted to "millions"—in costs and legal fees. Representative DeGette then asked, "Have you ever had to pay out any judgments?" and Reh responded, "Not a penny."

Elisa Barnes, who received the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice "Lawyer of the Year Award" for her suit claiming that the federally regulated firearm industry was responsible for illegal gun traffic practiced by the criminal underclass in New York, testified against the proposed tort reforms. She was asked about lawsuits piled on lawsuits where firearm industry plaintiffs continue to lose. "I would disagree that these suits are unsuccessful. Some have been dismissed, and some are proceeding. And I would go back to the example of the tobacco litigation, and how many cases did tobacco litigants lose before they finally won one ... and that is the way that the tort system works." (emphasis added)

Walter K. Olson, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, makes a critical point in his new book, Rule of Lawyers, that "the public relations campaign on behalf of the municipal gun suits actually made a point of stressing their insincerity" over the true purposes of litigation.

"It used to be that attorneys would go to some lengths to deny the imputation that they had filed a lawsuit for merely tactical reasons, just to strong-arm their adversaries into some unrelated concession, without actually intending to get the 'relief' they were asking for." And it was unethical to force litigation costs on defendants to gain a tactical advantage. That is precisely why the tort system—especially as it applies to the slow destruction of the lawful firearm industry—must be reformed. Fairness and equity demand that this abuse be stopped cold. To that end, H.R. 1036— introduced by U. S. Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), Rick Boucher (D-Va.), Melissa Hart (R-Pa.) and Chris John (D-La.)—is supported by a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives. A remarkable 243 members have signed on as original co-sponsors to date.

On the other side of the Hill, U.S. Senators Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) have introduced S. 659 with 51 co-sponsors to date. Even with this kind of majority bipartisan support, enactment is no sure thing. The process is a long, bumpy road, and every anti-gun-rights group allied with fat-cat trial lawyers will be working to sabotage this needed change in the law.

Only you and I and our friends and families can assure that the line is held and that this legislation is signed into law. Please write, e-mail, call or contact your U.S. Congressman and Senators. Tell them to support H.R. 1036 or S. 659 when it comes before them.