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Washington,
D.C., October 20, 2005 —
The U.S. House of
Representatives today passed S. 397, The Protection of
Lawful Commerce in Arms Act with a strong bipartisan vote of
283-144 The bill, which is liability legislation that would
shield the firearms industry from liability claims resulting
from injury due to criminal or unlawful use of firearms, passed
the Senate by a vote of 65-31 in July and is expected to be
signed by President Bush.
“We commend members
of the House for supporting this common sense legislation.
Lawsuits targeting the firearms industry are just another
attempt by the plaintiffs’ bar to circumvent Congress and
regulate the industry,” said ATRA President Sherman Joyce.
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.
“We’re pleased to see
the momentum continue in Congress for civil justice reform,”
Joyce said. “Eliminating frivolous lawsuits and other abuses of
our civil justice system will benefit all consumers.”
President Bush signed
the Class Action Fairness Act into law in February. The House
yesterday passed H.R. 554, the Personal Responsibility
in Food Consumption Act; a similar bill is expected to be
taken up in the Senate. Also scheduled for a vote in the House
next week is the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act, H.R. 420, which
passed the House last year and was reported favorably out of the
House Judiciary this summer.
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