Chicago Sues Gun Industry

The city of Chicago is taking aim at the nation's gun industry.

Mayor Richard M. Daley has filed a $433 million lawsuit against the gun makers and dealers industry, accusing them of saturating the city with more guns than could ever be sold to law-abiding citizens.

The lawsuit charges 22 firearms makers, 12 suburban gun shops, and four individual distributors with creating a public nuisance by marketing guns to criminals.

Daley said manufacturers pour inventory into suburban gun shops far in excess of suburban demand, knowing the real market is gang-plagued Chicago.

"Gun manufacturers and retailers know exactly what they're doing," Daley said Thursday.

Correspondent Mike Flannery of CBS station WBBM-TV reports that the city recently sent undercover police officers, including a couple posing as white supremacists, into suburban gun shops. They openly stated their intentions to pass the guns on to others, a felony offense, and use them to wage gang warfare in Chicago. Police said the sellers raised no objections.

Experts said such lawsuits are likely to catch on with crime-plagued cities, much as state-level lawsuits against the tobacco industry have grown.

New Orleans already has taken the gun industry to court, accusing manufacturers of failing to include adequate safety features on their weapons. Officials in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami are considering lawsuits.

Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke said Thursday his office is exploring whether to sue firearms manufacturers for the cost of police, emergency medical services, and courts coping with gun violence.

Although Chicago has some of the nation's toughest gun laws, authorities say those laws are of little help when gang members can drive to suburban gun shops and return with a wide array of weapons.