House Passes Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act

Congress took a historic step today toward ending "junk" lawsuits. With a 283-144 bi-partisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a landmark bill to block lawsuits that seek to hold firearms manufacturers liable for the criminal misuse of their lawfully sold products. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (S-397) will prevent wrongful civil liability lawsuits against law-abiding companies and end years of abuse of America’s legal system by anti-gun fanatics.

The bill will now head to President Bush, who has said he would sign it if it reached his desk. The U.S. Senate passed the bill in July with a 65-31 bi-partisan vote. The overwhelming bi-partisan support of this bill in both the Senate and House demonstrates Congress’s ability to work together when it comes to protecting America’s law-abiding businesses, in turn protecting thousands of jobs nationwide. Our sincere thanks to Sen. Larry Craig and Rep. Cliff Sterns for introducing this much-needed legislation and President Bush, who has continuously promoted legal reform in order to protect our nation’s businesses and economy,” said Doug Painter, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association representing firearms and ammunition manufacturers.

“These lawsuits put thousands of jobs at risk and attempted to drive an entire industry out of business. Such abuse of our judicial system invited this historic legal reform,” said Lawrence G. Keane, National Shooting Sports Foundation’s senior vice president and general counsel. Opponents of the bill attempted to scare the public into thinking it would no longer have the right to file civil liability actions, but the bill’s language is very clear on the subject, allowing legitimate lawsuits to be filed against companies that sell defective products or against firearms dealers who break the law.

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