Repeal Gun Industry Immunity
What does it solve?
The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) blocks legal responsibility for gun manufacturers that have failed to innovate and make guns safer, and for manufacturers, distributors, and dealers with irresponsible, reckless and negligent sales practices that contribute to the flood of illegal firearms in our communities.
Since PLCAA passed in 2005, not a single gun manufacturer accused of negligence has gone to trial. The gun industry’s broad immunity from legal accountability must be repealed.
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Which states have expanded legal accountability for the gun industry?
Alabama has not adopted this policy
Alaska has not adopted this policy
Arizona has not adopted this policy
Arkansas has not adopted this policy
California has adopted this policy
Colorado has adopted this policy
Connecticut has adopted this policy
Delaware has adopted this policy
Florida has not adopted this policy
Georgia has not adopted this policy
Hawaii has adopted this policy
Idaho has not adopted this policy
Illinois has adopted this policy
Indiana has not adopted this policy
Iowa has not adopted this policy
Kansas has not adopted this policy
Kentucky has not adopted this policy
Louisiana has not adopted this policy
Maine has not adopted this policy
Maryland has adopted this policy
Massachusetts has not adopted this policy
Michigan has not adopted this policy
Minnesota has not adopted this policy
Mississippi has not adopted this policy
Missouri has not adopted this policy
Montana has not adopted this policy
Nebraska has not adopted this policy
Nevada has not adopted this policy
New Hampshire has not adopted this policy
New Jersey has adopted this policy
New Mexico has not adopted this policy
New York has adopted this policy
North Carolina has not adopted this policy
North Dakota has not adopted this policy
Ohio has not adopted this policy
Oklahoma has not adopted this policy
Oregon has not adopted this policy
Pennsylvania has not adopted this policy
Rhode Island has not adopted this policy
South Carolina has not adopted this policy
South Dakota has not adopted this policy
Tennessee has not adopted this policy
Texas has not adopted this policy
Utah has not adopted this policy
Vermont has not adopted this policy
Virginia has not adopted this policy
Washington has adopted this policy
West Virginia has not adopted this policy
Wisconsin has not adopted this policy
Wyoming has not adopted this policy
Myth & Fact
Myth
Criminals are the only ones responsible for gun violence, not the gun industry.
Fact
Of course criminals are personally responsible for their crimes. But the gun industry also plays a major role in fueling our gun violence crisis, but it is rarely held responsible for how it makes and sells its products but PLCAA provides a broad shield against most legal accountability.
How it works
The gun industry should adhere to the same rules as every other industry and be held accountable when its actions result in harm.
An extraordinary law has provided gun manufacturers and sellers who skirt the law with a unique, broad immunity from legal accountability. The PLCAA gives gun industry members a shield from the lawsuits that are most often used in the United States to hold businesses accountable for products or practices that harm people. PLCAA blocks legal responsibility for gun manufacturers that have failed to innovate and make guns safer, and for manufacturers, distributors and dealers with irresponsible, reckless and negligent sales practices that contribute to the flood of illegal firearms in our communities.
In 2005, at the strong urging of the gun lobby, Congress passed PLCAA, one of the biggest giveaways to private industry in American history. It gives gun manufacturers and sellers more protection from litigation than makers of cars or tobacco products. While PLCAA has narrow exceptions, it bars the civil lawsuits that are most often used to hold industries accountable.