Bill keeps local governments in Nevada from suing gun makers

CARSON CITY -- Assemblyman Don Gustavson's bill to keep local Nevada governments from suing gun makers for damage caused by their weapons has won Assembly approval on a 33-9 vote.

AB543 would stop local governments in Nevada from suing a manufacturer or distributor of a gun or ammunition for damages if their products are used in crimes that hurt or kill someone.

Individuals could still sue for damages and the bill wouldn't prohibit product defect lawsuits, supporters said Wednesday.

"With this bill we're telling local governments that these lawsuits are frivolous," said Assemblyman Greg Brower, R-Reno.

"This will go a long way to telling businesses that this is a busness-friendly state whose product liability laws are conductive to good business," he added.

Assemblyman David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas, led opposition to the bill saying, "We're taking away local options here."

There have been suits filed against gun makers in Chicago, New Orleans, Atlanta, Bridgeport, Conn., and Dade County, Fla.

Other bills approved by the Assembly on Wednesday include:

- AB282 by Assemblyman John Lee, D-Las Vegas, which makes it illegal for anyone to display publicly material that depicts naked female breasts or genitals of either sex.

Though the bill doesn't name them, Lee has said it specifically targets the dozens of different pamphlets and handbills advertising escort services in Las Vegas. The bills are handed out by people hired by the companies or are simply left in open newsracks to be picked up by passersby.

- AB457 by Assemblyman David Parks, D-Las Vegas, which targets "road rage" by making aggressive driving a misdemeanor punishable by suspension or revocation of a driver's license and mandatory traffic school.

A driver would have to commit at least two aggressive driving offenses within one mile of each other to be in violation of this law. The offenses include passing on the right, speeding, failing to obey a traffic-control device, following another vehicle too closely, and creating an immediate hazard.

- AB163 by Assemblywoman Merle Berman, R-Las Vegas, which expands insurance coverage for mammograms for women. The bill applies to women younger than 40 who have a history of breast cancer or of benign breast disease, who had a family member with breast cancer or who did not give birth before they reached 30 years old.

The present law requires coverage for an annual mammogram for women 40 and older and for a baseline mammogram for women between 35 and 40.

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