Democrats Revive Legislative Attack on American Gun Makers

Another legislative attack on the firearms industry is being pushed in Congress by Democratic party politicians. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) reintroduced legislation this week that targets the gun industry, allowing persons to sue the makers of firearms that were used by criminals to cause injury. Currently, such lawsuits are blocked by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) enacted in 2005.

The new Democratic legislation, the “Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act”, would repeal the PLCAA. If the PLCAA is repealed, then gun-makers could potentially be sued for the actions of criminals using firearms — even if the guns were stolen. If bad guys cause harm with guns, the Democrats want the gun-makers to pay, and keep paying. The goal is to eventually bankrupt the gun industry and put companies such as Colt, Ruger, and Smith & Wesson out of business.

The Democrats have gone after the PLCAA before. NPR reports: “The effort to repeal PLCAA by Democrats on Capitol Hill is not new. Schiff first introduced the measure in 2013, and it has been reintroduced at least two other times without gaining traction.”

The real goal of this legislation is to cripple the gun industry. GunAmerica Digest explains: “One of the primary goals of anti-gunners is to bankrupt the gun industry by repealing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).”

The sponsors of the new legislation claim their legislation is needed to protect citizens. Congressman Schiff (D-CA) declared: “This bill would pierce the gun industry’s liability shield by putting an end to the special protections the gun industry receives when they shirk their fundamental responsibility to act with reasonable care for the public safety.”

GunsAmerica Digest says don’t believe this: “Schiff and Blumenthal are grossly mis-characterizing the purpose of PLCAA. It does NOT protect members of the gun industry from product liability suits for manufacturing or design defects or certain types of negligent conduct. It merely prohibits lawsuits against gun makers for damages resulting from the third-party criminal misuse of their firearms.”

It’s clear what the sponsors of this legislation really want. They seek to destroy the U.S. gun industry through waves of lawsuits — “death by 1000 cuts”. The anti-gunners may not be able to remove the Second Amendment from the Bill of Rights, but if they succeed in bankrupting all the major gun-makers, then the “Right to Keep and Bear Arms” won’t be worth much.