A Bush-era federal law that protects gun dealers from being liable for homicides committed with guns from their shops is under fire in an Alaska court case that has led the Justice Department and gun-control activists to intervene.
At issue is whether a Juneau gun dealer is liable for letting a disheveled homeless felon leave his store with a rifle he used to kill a total stranger. The family of the slaying victim, Anchorage contractor Simone Kim, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit that has made it to the Alaska Supreme Court.
Jason Coday, a drifter with a police record in Utah and Nevada, fatally shot Kim in a random act of violence two days after arriving in Juneau and acquiring a gun from shop owner, Ray Coxe. Coxe said Coday walked out with the gun while his back was turned.
Guilty as charged is what I say. Gun shops have a responsibility to ensure that something like this cannot happen.
What do you think? Please leave a comment.
