Page 8 - AHATA

A2 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 29 OctOber 2025

Congress shielded gun companies from lawsuits. Some blue states

think they've found a loophole

By SUSAN HAIGH they are held account-
Associated Press able," said Democratic
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, the
Two decades after a Re- law's chief proponent.
publican-controlled Con- Several states and cities
gress gave gun manufac- have used the new liability
turers immunity from being laws to sue Glock over the
sued over crimes commit- design of its pistols, saying it
ted with their firearms, blue is too easy to convert them
state Democrats upset into automatic weapons.
about gun violence think Many of the new laws fol-
they've found a way to low legal theories from a
penetrate that legal shield. lawsuit filed against gun-
Since 2021, 10 states have maker Remington by fami-
passed laws intended to lies of Sandy Hook victims.
make it easier to sue gun- The suit, which was settled
makers and sellers. for $73 million in 2022, ar-
The newest such law, in gued that Remington's
Connecticut, took effect marketing violated state
this month. It opens firearms consumer protection law.
manufacturers and retail- What's next?
ers up to lawsuits if they It's too soon to say if courts
don't take steps to prevent will uphold the new state
guns from getting into the In this Dec. 20, 2012 file photo, law enforcement officials stand outside Riverview Gun Sales, as laws.
hands of people banned authorities raid the store in East Windsor, Conn. A panel of the 2nd U.S. Cir-
from owning them, or who Associated Press cuit Court of Appeals ruled
should be suspected of tion. "They don't care," he crime. For example, a gunmaker in July that New York's law
intending to use them to said, adding that the real Many of those suits argued that sells a faulty firearm wasn't expressly barred by
hurt themselves or others. goal of the lawsuits was that gun companies had can still be sued over dan- the Protection of Lawful
Other states have allowed to harass the industry and knowingly oversupplied gerous defects. Another Commerce in Arms Act,
lawsuits against companies drain it financially. certain markets with cheap exception allows lawsuits but that decision is not ex-
deemed to have created Gun control groups say handguns and ignored against companies that pected to be the last word.
a "public nuisance" through the states have simply set signs that those weapons knowingly violate laws reg- One of the judges, Dennis
the sale or marketing of clearer requirements for were being trafficked to ulating how firearms are Jacobs, made it clear he
firearms. gun companies to ensure places with strict gun con- sold and marketed. believes the law is vulner-
The legislation and flurry of their products aren't sold or trols. When Congress drafted able to future legal chal-
lawsuits against gun com- used illegally. The firearms industry and that exception, it cited lenges, calling it "nothing
panies that followed has "These laws don't just open the National Rifle Associa- the example of a shop short of an attempt to end-
outraged gun rights ad- the courthouse doors to tion saw the lawsuits as un- that knowingly sold a gun run PLCAA."
vocates, who accuse the survivors. They also force fair. As long as gun compa- to someone banned from The U.S. Supreme Court,
states of trying to skirt the the gun industry to oper- nies weren't breaking rules owning one, such as a con- which is controlled 6-3 by
2005 Protection of Lawful ate more responsibly and, around sales, they shouldn't victed felon. Republican-nominated
Commerce in Arms Act. most importantly, can help be held responsible for vio- The new state laws have justices, hasn't yet consid-
That law, which blocked a prevent future tragedies," lence, they said. sought to expand poten- ered the state liability laws,
wave of similar lawsuits two said Po Murray, chair of the President George W. Bush, tial liability for gun compa- but the gun industry was
decades ago, says gun Newtown Action Alliance, a Republican, agreed and nies by creating new rules encouraged when the jus-
companies operating le- a gun-violence prevention signed the shield law in for the industry. New York tices unanimously agreed
gally cannot be held liable group founded after the 2005, saying it helped stem passed a law in 2021 requir- in June to toss out a $10
for violent acts committed 2012 Sandy Hook Elemen- "frivolous lawsuits." ing gun companies to cre- billion lawsuit Mexico filed
by people misusing weap- tary School shooting. "Our laws should punish ate controls to prevent un- against top firearms man-
ons. Two decades of federal im- criminals who use guns to lawful possession or use of ufacturers claiming their
"They know these laws munity commit crimes, not law- their products. It also says business practices fuel car-
are unconstitutional. They Congress adopted protec- abiding manufacturers of they cannot knowingly or tel violence.
know these laws violate the tions for the gun industry lawful products," Bush said recklessly "contribute to a Justice Elena Kagan, a
PLCAA," said Lawrence G. after lawsuits filed in Chica- at the time. condition" that endangers Democratic nominee,
Keane, senior vice presi- go, New York, Los Angeles A new approach public safety. wrote in her opinion how
dent for government and and elsewhere attempted The legal protections Con- "Any business operating in Congress passed PLCAA to
public affairs at the Nation- to hold the firearms indus- gress gave the gun industry New York must adhere to halt lawsuits similar to the
al Shooting Sports Founda- try responsible for violent aren't absolute. our laws and if they don't, one filed by Mexico. q