Top Democrats Push Bill To Hold Firearm Manufacturers Liable for Shootings
A group of congressional Democrats announced Tuesday a new push to repeal a long-standing provision of federal law that protects firearms manufacturers from being sued when their products are misused.
The “Equal Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act” was originally introduced by Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff of California in 2017.
On Tuesday, Schiff announced he had re-introduced the bill and rallied in Washington, D.C., along with Democrat Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Reps. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida, Jason Crow of Colorado and Dwight Evans of Pennsylvania.
Legislators were joined by members of March For Our Lives, Newtown Action Alliance, Everytown For Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Blumenthal and Schiff framed the issue as part of congressional Democrats’ efforts to pass gun control legislation, they said at the news conference announcing the bill.
After listing major shooting incidents, Schiff said, “These deaths are preventable.”
He called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, passed by Congress in 2005, “a little known but deeply destructive bill.”
“Under state and federal law, we require and expect every other industry, whether car-makers or drug companies, to act with reasonable care for public safety,” he said, adding that the legislation was needed “to correct the error that Congress made in 2005.”
He added that this piece of legislation was designed to “ensure that victims of gun violence can have their day in court.”
WATCH NOW as @RepAdamSchiff & I re-introduce our bill to #RepealPLCAA. PLCAA has prevented gun violence victims from having their day in court. The gun industry must take responsibility for endangering American lives. https://t.co/GzIOVoKU4a
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) June 11, 2019
Blumenthal and Schiff said if the legislation fails again, they will keep trying until it passes.
During his remarks, Blumenthal noted the efforts at gun control that have passed in the House but languish in the Senate, saying the Senate “continues to be complicit by its inaction.”
“History will judge harshly our colleagues in the Senate if they fail to pass this measure,” he said.
“The voters will judge them even more harshly, I hope.”
He attacked the 2005 act as well.
“For me, this sweeping immunity is a special abomination,” he said.
And the protection given to gun manufacturers is “absurd,” Murphy said, claiming its passage in 2005 was a reflection of the “omnipotent” gun lobby.
A statement from Schiff and Blumenthal that was originally drafted when the initial legislation was introduced said claims made in 2005 that the legislation to protect gun-makers was necessary have been proven false.
“Numerous cases across the United States have been dismissed on the basis of PLCAA even when the gun makers and sellers acted in a fashion that would qualify as negligent if it involved any other product, and many additional cases have likely not been brought because of the chilling effect of PLCAA’s blanket immunity,” the statement read.
“PLCAA immunizes the gun industry from their fundamental duty to act with reasonable care towards public safety, empowering the worst actors to act with impunity.”
In a news release to announce the legislation’s initial introduction in 2017, Blumenthal cited the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, as a reason to overturn the 2005 law.
“When ten Sandy Hook families courageously took the manufacturer and distributor of the AR-15 used in that horrific tragedy to court, the deceptively named Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was used as a complete barrier to their pursuit of justice,” Blumenthal said at the time.
“That’s because under current law — and unlike virtually every other manufacturer of consumer products — the gun industry cannot be sued by consumers who are harmed by their products.”
“Our simple measure will give victims of gun violence their day in court and unlock the doors to justice — repealing the sweetheart deal that Congress granted to the gun lobby,” Blumenthal said then, according to the release from Murphy’s office.
In March, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that despite the federal law, families who lost children in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School could sue Remington Arms for the way in which it marketed the type of gun used in the massacre, USA Today reported.
The re-introduction of the law repealing the firearms industry’s protection was hailed by Everytown for Gun Safety.
“No industry should be above the law, especially one that produces deadly weapons — and yet America’s gun industry enjoys special protection from lawsuits thanks to the millions of dollars they spent lobbying politicians,” John Feinblatt, president of the group, said in a statement.
“We applaud Senator Blumenthal and Representative Schiff for taking action to repeal PLCAA and allow the courts to hold reckless gun manufacturers and gun dealers accountable.”
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