Second Amendment
Legal Intelligence

Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence

Would repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), the 2005 federal law that provides firearms manufacturers and dealers with qualified immunity from civil lawsuits when their products are used in crimes. Supporters argue PLCAA unfairly shields an industry from accountability available to every other manufacturer. Opponents — including the NRA, NSSF, and constitutional scholars — argue PLCAA does not bar lawsuits for defective products or negligent sales, only suits for the criminal misuse of a non-defective product by a third party. Removing PLCAA would expose manufacturers to potentially bankrupting litigation regardless of whether they did anything wrong. The bill failed to advance out of committee. Several states (New York, New Jersey, California) have enacted state-level PLCAA workarounds that are currently being litigated.