madam speaker , i thank the gentleman from georgia for yielding me this time . 
i rise in support of the rule . 
this rule gets us to the point of this issue . 
my area of western pennsylvania has a strong sportsman heritage , as does this nation . 
hunting has been a tradition , bringing generations of families together . 
as such , second amendment rights are crucial . 
i am a cosponsor and i strongly support senate bill 397 . 
since 1998 , dozens of municipalities and cities have filed suits against america 's firearms industry , somehow alleging that the manufacturer of a firearm can be responsible for the acts of criminals . 
these suits , following the model of the tobacco litigation , attempt to push the gun manufacturers into court to force a settlement , a large cash award , or cessation of a business . 
in pennsylvania , philadelphia attempted to claim public nuisance violations of firearm manufacturers , but a reasonable court dismissed the claim , stating that the city 's charges were a `` theory in search of a case. '' firearm manufacturers have a time-honored tradition of acting responsibly . 
they therefore should not be subjected to these frivolous suits . 
such suits are anti-freedom , they are anti-employer , not to mention that they seek to protect the irresponsible . 
in addition , the gun industry plays a large role in my state of pennsylvania in our economy . 
pennsylvania is home to 277 gun manufacturers , and the impact of sportsmen-related activity to our economy brings more than $ 900 million to our state . 
it also brings generations of family tradition . 
that is also good for our economy . 
senate bill 397 prohibits illegitimate lawsuits against licensed and law-abiding manufacturers and dealers . 
these lawsuits , which attempt to blame the firearms industry for crimes committed by criminals who misuse their products , have already cost this industry more than $ 100 million in attorneys ' fees and a suit against the industry has yet to win . 
this bill seeks to end the abuse of our judicial system by the coordinated strategy of filing endless predatory lawsuits designed to drive law-abiding gun manufacturers into bankruptcy . 
senators santorum and specter have both cosponsored the senate version of this bill which passed the senate in july . 
president bush has indicated his support for this legislation , and i look forward to this bill coming to the floor so that we can pass it in the house and its being signed and becoming law , so that our american firearms industry will not be subjected to potentially bankrupting lawsuits . 
as we know , there is a way to control gun crime and protect the gun industry . 
we need to enforce the many gun laws that are currently on the books . 
not only does this law protect lawful gun owners , but enforcing gun crime works . 
a study by the atf in june of 2000 documented 1 , 700 federal and state gun law prosecutions and 1 , 000 verdicts from july 1996 to december of 1999 , while there were nearly 500 , 000 gun crimes committed annually . 
the way to combat gun crimes is not through ridiculous lawsuits , but through the prosecution of gun crimes . 
forcing the gun industry into court ignores a city 's inability to control gun crime . 
