The Standard - US Senate poised to pass law shielding gun firms

In a sign of the changing political calculus of gun control, the US Senate is poised to pass a top priority of the National Rifle Association - legislation that would shield the gun industry from lawsuits arising from the misuse of their weapons.

In related news, the House is taking up legislation that protect tobacco companies from liability to people who misuse cigarettes by smoking them, and to protect the nuclear power industry from claims by people who misuse radiation by exposing themselves to it when a reactor explodes. However a move to protect Enron executives from claims by investors who misused Enron stock by buying it was withdrawn.