Democrats Rekindle Bill to End Gun Industry Lawsuit Protections

On the heels of the Las Vegas massacre, two Democratic lawmakers have revived a bill that would strip the immunity from lawsuits enjoyed by the gun industry.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) reintroduced a bill Thursday that would allow victims of gun violence and their families to sue gun makers, sellers and advocacy groups, like the National Rifle Association.

The Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act would wipe away the federal law that protects the industry from lawsuits, which was passed in 2005 and signed by then-President George Bush.

U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, helped reintroduce the bill.

That law is known as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

“Our nation is plagued by an epidemic of mass shootings and every day gun violence,” Schiff said.

“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.”

The NRA did not immediately comment on the Schiff bill.

The bill was first proposed in the wake of the murders of 20 children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012.

Schiff was a co-sponsor of the bill in 2013. It died in committee with no votes or hearings. In 2016, it was reintroduced and referred to committee and it died there once again.

Stephen Paddock, 64, rained bullets on a county music concert crowd in Las Vegas on Sunday, killing 58 people. Twenty-three guns were found in his hotel room.

Source: www.nydailynews.com www.nydailynews.com

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