Gunowner may be liable

[JJVP]

In a case attorneys say has no precedent in New Hampshire, a federal appeals court is weighing whether the owner of a handgun used to kill three people at a Conway military surplus shop in July 2007 could be held liable for their murders

http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/3 ... SGroupId=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RoyGBiv]

Wow.. The argument here is that the defendant should have locked up his gun so that the murderer could not have stolen it. That it's the gun owners fault that people were killed by his stolen gun, after the killer broke into his house and stole the gun, then committed murder with it.

Lesson: You can sue anyone for any reason.

No way he's found civilly liable, but just the "maybe" is scary enough. "Loser pays" should absolutely apply here and I would most definitely be counter-suing for abuse of process, legal costs, lost time and "duress" if I were the defendant.

[WildBill]

I thought this issue was decided when they tried to sue gun manufacturers for being liable for shootings.

[RPB]

I keep my tire tool securely locked in the trunk of my car, but
perhaps I need to put up a fence around everything and lock the gate because there's this rock on my property someone could steal and use for evil ...or maybe they'd get a tree limb for a caveman type club weapon ... I need to lock up my trees too I suppose.

Parts of Australia now have booming businesses "Gun Storage" places
http://www.ssaa.org.au/licensing-security.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The licensing and security of firearms varies in each Australian state and territory and there are some basic criteria laid down for shooters in all states and territories to adhere to. These basic regulations require a licensed firearm owner to always secure their firearms as per their state regulations. Failing to do this may attract heavy penalties. Random checks by state police are conducted to make sure licensed holders are complying with the Act of their state.

Hello, we're the State Police and we ARE going to look all around inside your house, in cupboards, drawers, closets, attic, every nook and cranny to see if any guns might be stored improperly... Oh we'll need to look in your cereal boxes too, and please open the bag of chips ....You don't mind if we pull the backs off your stereo speakers right ... oh, oops, now to disassemble the couch ...