Florida Supreme Court Rejects Miami-Dade
Gun Suit
The firearms industry’s impressive and gratifying string
of appellate court victories in the municipal firearms litigation
continued on Wednesday, Oct. 24, when the Florida Supreme
Court refused to hear Miami-Dade County’s appeal of the dismissal
of its politically motivated and reckless lawsuit against
the industry. The Florida high court went a step further and
told Miami-Dade that it would not entertain any further motions
in the case.
The Florida Supreme Court’s decision lets stand a Florida
appeals court decision from February that unanimously upheld
the lower court’s dismissal of Miami-Dade’s suit against 26
firearm manufacturers and the industry’s trade associations,
declaring the suit an improper attempt to regulate firearms”
through the courts.
“The power to legislate belongs not to the judicial branch
of government, but to the legislative branch,” the court said.
The Florida Supreme Court becomes the fifth state supreme
court, joining California, New York, Louisiana and Connecticut,
in ruling in favor of the firearms industry and rejecting
the notion that manufacturers of legal, highly regulated non-defective
products are responsible for criminal misuse of those products.
“Despite the firearms industry’s unbroken string of appellate
court victories, including a win in the United States Supreme
Court, certain politicians have refused to drop their suits
against our responsible American industry,” said Lawrence
G. Keane, vice president and general counsel. Because
the Florida Supreme Court refused to hear the case, an appeal
by Miami-Dade to the U.S. Supreme Court would be futile gesture
that would certainly meet the same fate as New Orleans,”
commented Keane.
In the various municipal suits that have sought to hold
the firearm industry responsible for the criminal actions
of others, three state Supreme Courts, and the U.S. Supreme
Court have all ruled in favor of the industry. In two other
industry cases, state Supreme Court rulings in New York and
in California have also favored the industry.
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