Senate Republicans moved Wednesday to force a vote on a bill that would ban lawsuits against gunmakers when their firearms are used in crimes. Even if the gunmaker intentionally creates a product that is easily modified to create an illegal firearm. The Republicans even blocked a Democrat proposed exemption when children are injured by firearms that don’t have child-safety gun locks.

If those children were embryos, they would have much more protection under Republican dogma.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (big surprise, eh?), moved the proposed legislation ahead of a planned vote on a Pentagon budget bill. A vote on the ban could take place Friday.

“Without this legislation, it is probable the American manufacturers of legal firearms will be faced with a real prospect of going out of business,” Frist said, reinforcing his belief that going out of business is much less desirable than protecting children.

In another cute trick, the Repugs tied the bill to national security. “These frivolous suits threaten a domestic industry that is critical to our national defense” he said. By linking the bill to the war in Iraq, Frist said that Beretta, the manufacturer of pistols to U.S. forces in Iraq, warned that it may go bankrupt if the lawsuits are not stopped.

Securities and Exchange Commission statements by gunmakers Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co. indicating that litigation posed little threat to their bottom lines.

The White House says the issue is one of fairness. “The president believes that the manufacturer of a legal product should not be held liable for the criminal misuse of that product by others,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. “We look at it from a standpoint of stopping lawsuit abuse.”

What about Napster? Napster never copied anything. Napster should not be held responsible for the criminal misuse of mp3’s by it’s clients.

Then again Napster does not have the NRA lobby, nor can it blow anyone’s brains out with a pirated mp3.