SENATE ALREADY APPROVED LEGISLATION/WILL GO TO THE PRESIDENT FOR ENACTMENT

Washington, Oct 20, 2005 - "For six years, I have been working to end the abuse of our court system with these nuisance lawsuits intended to bankrupt the firearms industry," said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL). "This legislation puts an end to these frivolous lawsuits while ensuring that individuals and government entities with legitimate claims can proceed with their lawsuits."

The House today approved S. 397, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. This Senate bill, as introduced, contained the same provisions as Stearns' bill, H.R. 800, which has 257 cosponsors. Stearns' bill passed in the House in 2003 by a vote of 285 to 140. "We need to ensure that the criminals are held responsible for their illegal use of firearms and to protect our courts from these baseless law suits," explained Stearns. "The courts have dismissed twenty of these lawsuits, and every appellate court in the nation that has considered such a suit has ordered the case dismissed. More than thirty states, including Florida, have passed legislation prohibiting these types of lawsuits."

"This legislation is very narrowly-tailored to allow suits against any bad actors to proceed," explained Stearns. "It includes carefully-crafted exceptions to allow legitimate victims their day in court for cases involving defective firearms, breaches of contract, criminal behavior by a gunmaker or seller, or the negligent entrustment of a firearm to an irresponsible person."

The only differences in S. 397 from Stearns' bill are two non-controversial amendments: one codifying the exiting restrictions on armor-piercing ammunition and one on storage devices. "I look forward to the President signing this bill and protecting an industry and honest gun owners from abusive lawsuits that have no legal merit," concluded Stearns.

Currently, there are these lawsuits pending in New York City, and a few months ago, the D.C. District Court ruled that anyone hurt by gun violence has a right to sue gunmakers and sellers regardless of their culpability. Added Stearns, "In fact, earlier this month the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the D.C. Court decision. That is why it is extremely important and timely that we enact this bill."

In addition to threatening the firearms industry, millions of Americans who use firearms for sporting purposes could lose their Second Amendment Rights if the industry is bankrupted. "A number of important groups support my bill, among them the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Federal of Independent Business, and Americans for Tax Reform," said Stearns. "Also, the Department of Defense supports this bill to prevent becoming reliant on other nations to arm our troops."

A recent poll by Moore Information Public Opinion Research found that 79 percent of Americans do not believe that manufacturers should be held legally responsible for violence committed by armed criminals.