Biden Administration Urges Democrat AGs To Sue Gun Makers, Clear Drive to Put Gun Makers out of Business
Back in October, Dr. John Lott warned that Biden wanted to use lawsuits against gun makers to put them out of business.
On Wednesday, the Mexican government sued several U.S.- gun makers, seeking $10 billion in damages. They claim that the companies are “conscious of the fact that their products are trafficked and used in illicit activities against the civilian population and authorities of Mexico.” Among those facing the lawsuit are well-known names: Smith & Wesson Brands, Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Beretta USA, Glock, and Colt. The case was filed by the Brady Campaign, a U.S. based gun control organization.
The lawsuit by Mexico is just the latest in a long string of such suits. Remington was forced into bankruptcy last year because of a lawsuit claiming that company marketing inspired Adam Lanza to commit the massacre. In July, a California judge allowed a lawsuit against Smith & Wesson to go forward because the company had marketed the gun used in a shooting through “video game-like commercials.”
But the big news today is that Biden is pushing state Attorneys General sue gun makers and put them out of business. No one can read these statements and not see that this is a coordinated effort to destroy American’s ability to own guns.
President Biden has repeatedly and forcefully called for Congress to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). This law gives gun dealers and manufacturers special immunity from certain liability for their products, hindering the public’s ability to address the epidemic of gun violence through the use of civil litigation in the same way they have been able to with the tobacco and opioid industries. As the President said in the Rose Garden this past April, “Imagine how different it would be had the same exemption been available to tobacco companies who knew and lied about the danger they were causing.” During today’s discussion, attorneys general shared how PLCAA has served as a significant barrier to holding gun manufacturers and dealers accountable for unlawful conduct that led to shootings, homicides, and other gun crimes, and how repeal of PLCAA would enhance their ability to advance the public safety of Americans.
As directed in the President’s gun crime reduction strategy, participants in the convening also discussed how we can hold gun manufacturers and dealers accountable for unlawful conduct while PLCAA is still the law of the land. Attorneys general discussed the opportunity and barriers to using generally applicable state consumer protection and nuisance laws to take action against gun manufacturers and gun dealers under PLCAA’s predicate exception. They also discussed how state legislators could enact firearm-specific liability laws, like New York State’s new law, to potentially create new predicates allowing litigation to proceed under PLCAA.
“Readout of Senior White House Meeting with State Attorneys General on Efforts to Hold Gun Manufacturers Accountable,” The White House, August 5, 2021.
The post Biden Administration Urges Democrat AGs To Sue Gun Makers, Clear Drive to Put Gun Makers out of Business appeared first on Crime Prevention Research Center.
