Democrat presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton regularly claims that gun manufacturers enjoy “immunity” concerning their products, then offers new avenues for lawsuits to reverse the “immunity” she alleges.
Clinton’s “immunity” claims are simply not true. Rather, they are indicative of a tactic the Democrat Party has undertaken in an effort to open up gun manufacturers to lawsuits tied to the misuse of firearms, whether those firearms were stolen–Sandy Hook Elementary School, for example–or purchased legally–Aurora movie theater attack.
In one Democratic primary debate, Hillary Clinton went after Bernie Sanders, claiming he supported “immunity” for gun manufacturers by voting for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which was signed into law by George W. Bush in 2005. However, the purpose of the PLCAA is to protect gun manufacturers from frivolous suits brought by gun-grabbing politicians and gun control groups; it does not protect them from suits tied to liability for making a faulty product.
For example, Remington gun owners were recently informed of a class action lawsuit against the gunmaker over alleged faulty trigger mechanisms, and in 2015, Forjas Taurus SA reached a $30 million settlement in a class action lawsuit over an alleged “drop fire defect” in certain Taurus pistols.
These suits could not transpire–much less succeed–if the PLCAA had given gun manufacturers “immunity.”
Nonetheless, on January 27, Clinton tweeted:
Gun makers should be held accountable for endangering Americans. I voted against immunity—it's time to repeal it. -H https://t.co/L0mTx5JBoF
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 27, 2016
Clinton’s tweet is instructive; it shows that she wants the ability to use the court system to hold gun manufacturers accountable for gun crime. Her fellow Democrats have been open about this. In a column focused on efforts to overturn the PLCAA, The Hill reported that “Democrats say gun manufacturers and dealers that sell firearms to criminals should be ‘on the hook’ for mass shootings.”
As it now stands, the PLCAA may be all that stands between gun manufacturers and Democrats’ efforts to raid their coffers.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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