President Biden Demands Congress Pass Anti-Gun Laws
New American President Joseph Biden, just three weeks after taking office, called for radical, sweeping gun control measures that could dramatically harm the gun industry and strip away citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
On February 14, 2018, Biden said in a statement that his administration will “not wait for the next mass shooting” but will instead “take action” to “end our epidemic of gun violence.”
According to Guns America Digest: “Biden … wants lawmakers to criminalize private transfers, ban many semi-automatic firearms and accessories in common use, and repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which protects the gun industry from being held liable for the criminal misuse of firearms.”
| Biden stated: “Today, I am calling on Congress to enact common-sense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets”. |
President Biden is calling for legislation that would ban Modern Sporting Rifles such as the AR-15, shown here as adapted for High Power competition:
The elimination of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act could have disastrous consequences for the general shooting sports industry and firearms makers. This is because it would expose gun-makers to civil lawsuits for injuries caused by criminals using guys. As explained by the NRA-ILA:
About the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
By NRA-ILA
Joe Biden has unveiled his agenda for his first 100 days in the White House, and his list includes an initiative aimed at nothing less than the destruction of the U.S. firearms industry. This is what would happen if Biden succeeds in his pledge to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.Imagine if firearm manufactures and sellers – even those who strictly followed the laws enacted to regulate their industry – faced potential civil liability every time a criminal misused a firearm. The affect would be similar to holding automobile makers and dealers responsible for injuries caused by drunk drivers. No business, no matter how conscientious and law-abiding, could ever survive being liable for the acts of millions of random people over whom it had no control.
And that is exactly why the law generally imposes no duty on a person or entity to control the acts of third persons to prevent them from causing harm (unless the person or entity has certain types of relationships with those causing the harm or being harmed).
Yet gun control activists in and outside of government hoped to rewrite that principle when it came to the makers and sellers of firearms. During the 1980s and ’90s, a coordinated series of lawsuits against the gun industry sought to hold these businesses responsible for the criminal acts third parties committed with firearms.
This egregious abuse of the legal system to destroy an industry providing constitutionally protected goods and services sparked a bipartisan response from coast to coast. Thirty-four states passed laws to block these suits in their own courts. Finally, in 2005, Congress followed these examples by enacting the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to provide a floor of protection nationwide.
