David Frum’s ridiculous column on guns

I find it rather hard to believe that very many “gun owner[s]” themselves don’t understand how guns work, but fair enough: Some accidents might be caused by confusion about whether there’s a bullet in the chamber. But if you’re worried, buy a gun with an indicator. There’s no reason to make everyone else pay for this feature when accidents are so rare to begin with.

“Why not require that guns be designed so that they will not fire if dropped?”

He’s seen too many movies. Dropping a gun is never a good idea, but most modern handguns — especially those designed to be carried — are drop-safe.

“We have safety standards for every consumer product, from children’s cribs to lawnmowers, except for the most dangerous consumer product of them all. Not only that, Congress has actually immunized makers of that product against harms inflicted by unsafe design.”

The law he dislikes does not forbid lawsuits pertaining to poor design or manufacturing defects; in fact, it explicitly exempts such lawsuits. It is meant to stop lawsuits against gun manufacturers whose legally sold guns are eventually used in crimes.