H. Sterling Burnett

H. Sterling Burnett is a senior policy analyst for the National Center for Policy Analysis, a non-partisan, non-profit research institute. In the following viewpoint, Burnett maintains that holding gun makers responsible for gun violence is bad law because it allows the courts to legislate gun policy when such laws should be enacted by publicly-elected legislators. Burnett also contends that lawsuits against gun makers would make society less safe by restricting the legal availability of firearms, which are used more often to stop crimes than to commit them. Moreover, the author claims that the lawsuits would have the most adverse effect on the poor and minorities, who live in the most crime-ridden areas and depend upon guns for self-defense. As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to criminologist Gary Kleck...