4/7/2003
For Immediate Release
Contact: Dave Bean
April 7, 2003
Matt Masterson
Office (518) 434-3582
Cell (518) 588-0287
Robert Ricker: The Bombshell Witness Who's Already Bombed In Boston And California
Makes His Debut In Brooklyn. Anti-gun
groups hope third time's the charm for their "smoking gun" witness
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Robert Ricker, the NAACP's proclaimed "smoking gun"
witness in its suit against the firearms industry, made his debut today in
Brooklyn federal court. Ricker headed a now-defunct firearm industry
trade group for a brief two-month period in 1999. Ricker claims members
of the firearm industry fail to do enough to stop criminals from getting guns.
The NAACP's suit seeks to blame gun makers for criminal shootings in African-American
communities. The NAACP's attorney, Elisa Barnes, describes Ricker as a "true
insider."
This case marks the third time Ricker has made these allegations against firearms
industry members. Two years ago, lawyers representing the City of Boston
in its suit against gun makers interviewed Ricker and, in February, he filed
an affidavit against the industry on behalf of 12 California cities that had
sued gun makers.
The gun makers, however, were dismissive of Ricker's testimony. "We
are not the least bit concerned by Ricker's testimony," said Lawrence
G. Keane, vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports
Foundation, the firearms industry's trade association. "Boston
was so impressed by Ricker's accusations that it voluntarily dropped its suit
last year. The judge presiding over the California case was so impressed
with Ricker's affidavit that he threw the case out of court," Keane added.
"Ricker is the bombshell witness that has already bombed. If he
were a Broadway show he would have closed on opening night," Keane said.
"The accusation that the industry knowingly and willingly sells guns
to criminals is highly offensive and now, with the dismissals of the Boston
and California cases, proven to be false," Keane said.
Boston and California had access to hundreds of thousands of pages of industry
documents, took sworn testimony from dozens of company executives and, even
with Ricker's testimony, those cities were unable to show any wrongdoing on
the part of gun makers. To the contrary, Boston acknowledged in papers
filed with the court when it voluntarily dismissed its case that "the
firearms industry is generally concerned with and committed to the safe, legal
and responsible use of their products."
For many years, NSSF has cooperated with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and
Firearms (ATF) in its effort to educate and train firearms dealers to prevent
the sale of guns to persons prohibited by law from buying them. NSSF, in partnership
with ATF, developed the Don't Lie for the Other Guy straw purchase detection
and prevention program. NSSF also provides continuing education opportunities
for dealers at its annual trade show and through dealer seminars conducted
with ATF throughout the country.
Through its lawsuit, the NAACP is attempting to have an unelected judge in
Brooklyn dictate how firearms are to be sold throughout the entire United
States. "This is an unconstitutional attempt to use litigation
to rewrite federal law and the laws of 50 states in ways that Congress and
the American public do not support. This week the House of Representatives
will vote to approve legislation that will stop 'junk' lawsuits like the NAACP's
case that blame manufacturers for the acts of criminals," Keane said.
A majority of both the Senate and the House of Representatives are sponsoring
the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (S. 659/H.R. 1036).
According to a recent poll conducted by the American Tort Reform Association, 83.4%
of Americans believe there are too many lawsuits in America. In another
recent poll conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 69% of Americans said
they would be more favorable toward their Senator or Representative if they
voted to reform the way class action lawsuits are handled in the United States.
"The time has come for Congress to enact common sense legal reforms to
restore integrity and fairness to our judicial system and stop these junk
lawsuits that waste millions of taxpayer dollars and threaten to bankrupt an
entire law-abiding industry and eliminate thousands of important manufacturing
jobs," Keane said.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), formed in 1961, is the trade
association for the firearms and recreational shooting sports industry.
To view the entire press kit associated with this case, go to
www.hsshf.org/legal/and click on NAACP Trial.
What Does Robert Ricker Have To Say About These Lawsuits?
"We think that the issues presented in all the suits so far should be presented
by the state legislatures. Running to the civil courts for a criminal justice
problem is a mistake."
? Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), June 10, 1999
"For years.they've tried to drive our companies out of business through
legislation, through many different legislative campaigns, both at the state
level and the federal level. And they've been unsuccessful, and I think now
they're frustrated at the lack of success they've had in the legislatures. And
now they're turning to the courts."
?PBS Online News Hour, December 23, 1998
"The problem is the criminal misuse of guns, and it's very difficult to
blame our industry for the criminal acts of criminals."
? CBS Evening News, December 13, 1999
"It would be akin to making the automobile industry responsible for the
injuries as a result of drunk driving."
?CBS Evening News, May 2, 1998
"We think they are frivolous lawsuits, and we think that it's unfair for
the city or the county in this case to try to deflect blame. You're not going
to solve a criminal justice problem by going to the civil courts."
? Detroit Free Press, April 27, 1999
"Just because a gun is traced back to a particular dealer doesn't mean
that the dealer has done anything wrong. Some dealers have sold a large number
of guns traced to crimes because they are high-volume dealers. We all have an
interest in seeing that the bad guys are in jail and the honest dealers are
protected."
? Los Angeles Times, February 5, 2000
"[The] firearms industry is a highly regulated industry. There is a specific
bureau of our federal government that has been charged with regulating the
manufacture, sale and distribution of firearms, and that department is known as
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. There are over 20,000 gun laws on
the books right now. Guns are the only consumer product that can only be sold
after a person goes through a criminal background check and passes that check.
So, in terms of other consumer products, firearms are really more regulated and
go under more scrutiny than, let's say, toasters or teddy bears."
?CNN.com (transcript of online chat conducted with Robert Ricker), May 10, 1999
"The availability of firearms is more restricted now than it has ever
been. And if you look at the number of guns available per capita, there was probably
back in the late 1800s early 1900s, more guns available per capita than there
are now. And back at that time, there were virtually no restrictions on the
sale or acquisition of firearms. What we have today however is a criminal
justice problem that our cities have been unable to deal with effectively, so
the easy way out is to blame the gun."
? CNN.com (transcript of online chat conducted with Robert Ricker), May 10,
1999
"We try to work with law enforcement to guarantee and make sure that
firearms are used safely."
? CNN.com (transcript of online chat conducted with Robert Ricker), May 10,
1999
"This industry has nothing to do with why criminals commit crimes with
guns. Our industry is highly regulated. We pay millions and millions of dollars
each year in federal and state taxes, we employ thousands and thousands of
individuals, and we are the mainstay in many states in their state economy.
There is no relationship between our sound business practices and the criminals
who may misuse the products we make."
? CNN.com (transcript of online chat conducted with Robert Ricker), May 10,
1999
"There are a lot of people who feel the courts and judges are out of
control. It isn't going to stop with guns. They've already got their sights on
the alcohol industry, fast
food, automobiles. We're going to try to do whatever we can
to shape public opinion to really expose these rich trial lawyers for what they
are."
? The Gottlieb-Tartaro Report , Issue 050, February 1999