New bill would let gun violence victims sue firearm manufacturers…(Good Grief…)
RT.com
18 Jan, 2016
Democrats are trying to pass a bill that would hold gun makers liable for crimes committed with the weapons that they produced or sold. Passing the legislation will be an uphill battle in a Republican-controlled Congress.
The law would reverse protections by the gun industry granted by the Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005, which shields it from litigation over gun crimes.
“If you’re a carmaker and your airbags kill someone, you’re potentially liable,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) told The Hill in an interview. “If you’re a pharmaceutical company and sell faulty drugs, you can be held liable. If you’re a liquor store and sell alcohol to minors, you can be held liable.”
“Why should it be any different for gun manufacturers?” Schiff, one of the lawmakers behind the bill, asked.
Opponents of the Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act argue that car manufacturers are only held liable when vehicles malfunction, not people are killed by drivers. They and say that the new law will leave gun manufacturers open to frivolous lawsuits, an outcome that the original law was designed to stop.
Co-sponsors Schiff and Rep. Adam Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), concede that the proposal will be very difficult to pass in a Republican-controlled Congress.
“It’s much the same as any gun violence prevention bill,” Blumenthal told The New York Times. “But it’s profoundly important.
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