FOR PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY
Justice for Gun Victims
April 7, 2003
For Immediate Release

Ex-NRA Lobbyist Testifies Against Gun Industry

Robert A. Ricker takes the stand in NAACP’s landmark case

(Washington, DC) Robert A. Ricker, former Assistant General Counsel for the National Rifle Association and former Executive Director of the American Shooting Sports Council, was scheduled to testify today in the NAACP’s landmark lawsuit against the gun industry.

Ricker recently revealed that the gun industry has long known its practices aid criminal access to guns yet has done nothing about it. According to a declaration he filed in another case, "many manufacturers and distributors consistently refuse to address the problem of the 'felons among us.' They instead hide behind the fiction that as long as a retail dealer has a valid federal firearms license to sell guns, no attention to the dealer's business practices is required by its suppliers."

For Ricker’s complete declaration, visit www.justiceforgunvictims.org.

"Bob Ricker’s inside accounts confirm what we have long suspected: gun makers and dealers know their practices facilitate criminal access to firearms but do nothing about it," said Joshua Horwitz, Executive Director for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, the organization spearheading the Justice for Gun Victims campaign. "This smoking gun is the most compelling argument against Congress shielding the gun industry from legal action."

After just one hearing last week, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee rushed passage of H.R. 1036, a bill that would immunize the gun industry from legal action even if it acts irresponsibly. A full House vote is expected soon.

H.R. 1036 and S. 659, its Senate companion, seek to throw out pending suits against the gun industry, including the NAACP’s case. NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said last week the legislation was being put on a "fast track" to make the NAACP case "null and void." The NAACP case seeks no monetary damages only the reform of gun industry practices that aid criminal access to firearms.

About Justice for Gun Victims

Justice for Gun Victims is a collaboration of domestic violence prevention, civil rights, and gun violence prevention organizations dedicated to stopping the gun lobby’s attempt to grant the firearms industry legal immunity. For additional information, visit  www.justiceforgunvictims.org

For more information:

Blaine Rummel
(202) 408-0061 x118