Congressional Democrats are circulating legislation that would repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) of 2005 and once again expose firearms dealers and manufacturers to the baseless, politically motivated lawsuits that threatened to drive the industry out of business before the PLCAA was passed.
Congressman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are pushing the so-called Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act through a “Dear Colleague” letter circulating on Capitol Hill that claims to end “immunity” for the firearms industry.
However, PLCAA merely protected dealers and manufacturers from lawsuits arising from the unforeseen criminal actions of third parties. Under PLCAA, the industry is still liable for any criminal wrongdoing or defective products, meaning that “immunity” is a deliberately deceptive description intended to mislead voters in an election year. The industry isn’t “immune”—but this new legislation would cause a potentially fatal vulnerability.
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