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Washington,
D.C., July 29, 2005 — The U.S. Senate
today passed liability legislation that would shield the
firearms industry from liability claims resulting from injury
due to criminal or unlawful use of firearms. The vote of 65-31
reflects the Senate’s opposition to “regulation through
litigation,” according to the
American Tort Reform
Association (ATRA).
“Lawsuits targeting
the firearms industry are just another attempt to regulate an
entire industry through litigation,” said ATRA President
Sherman Joyce.
“We commend the Senate supporting this bill and saying ‘no’ to
‘regulation through litigation.’ The legislation, if enacted,
will help ensure the firearms industry does not become regulated
by a judge or jury, but by Congress, state legislatures or
regulatory agencies who traditionally have been responsible for
making those determinations.”
Over the past decade,
a new phenomenon has arisen in our civil justice system called
“regulation through litigation” where the focus of traditional
tort law shifts away from its main purpose—compensating someone
who has been injured by the wrongful conduct of another—to
having a judge create brand new rules to empower a jury to make
determinations that can affect entire industries.
S. 397, the
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, prohibits
civil liability actions from being brought against
manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms
or ammunition for damages resulting from the criminal or
unlawful misuse of their products by others. A similar bill is
expected to pass in the U.S. House of Representatives. President
Bush is expected to sign the bill.
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