Revoke The Legal Exception That Keeps Gun Manufacturers From Being Sued

Gun manufacturers should be civilly liable for the injuries and deaths that result from their products. Product liability should be applied to assault weapons as with any other dangerous product.

In 2000, there was a rise in the same kind of lawsuits that hobbled the tobacco industry against gun manufacturers. As a result, gun manufacturers stepped up their lobbying, and in 2005, George W. Bush signed a law that shields gun makers from being sued.

The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act is commonly known as the "Gun Protection Act." The law dismissed all current claims against gun manufacturers in both federal and state courts and pre-empted future claims. The law stated: "To prohibit causes of action against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms or ammunition products, and their trade associations, for the harm caused solely by the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearm products or ammunition products by others when the product functioned as designed and intended."

This is the same law that protected gun manfacturers from a lawsuit brought by parents of Sandy Hook shooting victims.

Enough. Let them justify their product in court.