Barr sues Bloomberg on behalf of gun dealer The Associated Press Published on: 07/20/06
Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr filed a lawsuit against New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Thursday, claiming his attempt to crack down on gun dealers was "careless, willful and clearly illegal."
The legal action, filed in Cobb County Superior Court, is in response to a federal lawsuit filed by Bloomberg in May alleging that 15 firearm brokers in five states, including Georgia, were "rogue gun dealers."
Barr said his client, Smyrna gun dealer Adventure Outdoors, was deceived and defamed by Bloomberg's lawsuit. His lawsuit seeks $400 million in damages.
"We didn't start this fight. They did," Barr told a cheering crowd in Marietta's city square. "But we intend to finish it and win."
Bloomberg's lawsuit claims that the dealer sold 21 guns over a seven-year period that were used in New York crimes. The shop's owner, Jay Wallace, said his name has been "trashed in the public eye of the nation."
"I've run my business with honesty and integrity, and I take pride in being part of the firearm industry," he said.
The announcement took on a patriotic tune as flag-waving supporters cheered the news of the lawsuit and danced.
"We will fight to prove the Constitution of the United States is still intact, and that Mr. Bloomberg's fight to abolish the Second Amendment must and will fail," said Edwin Marger, a Jasper lawyer who filed the lawsuit with Barr.
