"Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work."
Proverbs 24:29 (KJV)
Keep an eye on this push to hold gun manufacturers liable for firearm related offenses - dangerous idea that many argue in favor of.
Legislators mount effort on gun industry liability
By BILL MAHONEY 04/29/2021 05:00 AM
ALBANY — 'New York lawmakers are mounting an effort to open gun manufacturers and distributors up to civil liability suits.
“It would be the first bill of its kind in the country, and would be incredibly important to reestablish norms of gun industry accountability,” said David Pucino, an attorney at the Giffords Law Center, a national gun control advocacy group.
Federal statute enacted in 2005, which was drafted as a response to legal threats made by officials such as then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo, generally grants immunity to the firearms industry.
But that immunity isn’t absolute. And State Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn) has authored a bill that he believes is permissible under the federal law which would significantly extend the state’s ability to challenge manufacturers whose products are used illegally.
The federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act gave gun companies immunity from suits over the illegal use of their products. But it contained some exceptions, such as when they violate laws relating to “the sale or marketing of the product.”
After the act’s passage, then-New York City Michael Bloomberg carried on with legal challenges against manufacturers, claiming they had run afoul of the state’s nuisance law. But a federal appellate court found in 2008 that this law wasn’t suitable grounds for a case, as the exemption applies only to laws that “expressly regulate firearms.”
Myrie’s bill would categorize the misuse of guns as a nuisance.
Industry members could be sued for actions that “recklessly create, maintain or contribute to a condition in New York state that endangers the safety or health of the public through the sale, manufacturing, importing, or marketing of” a gun.
“There is no question in my mind that this is a public health crisis and a public nuisance that should be dealt with accordingly,” he said. “They have a business model that is predicated on their products flowing into the illegal market, and although they are loosely regulated in other states, the blood that is spilled ends up being the kids in Brownsville and Rochester and Albany, and I don’t think New Yorkers should accept that.”
“We can really set a standard that the rest of the nation could follow, that if you are going to make money off a deadly product, then you should build in the safety precautions that are necessary to protect the product from killing people on our streets,” Myrie said.
There’s already evidence that the proposal he drafted last summer is being followed in other parts of the nation. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy included a copy of it in a gun control agenda he proposed two weeks ago.
New York lawmakers will now try to be the first to actually enact it into law by passing it before session ends on June 10.
It might not be “a simple bill” to get passed quickly, said Assemblymember Pat Fahy (D-Albany), who has become the measure’s sponsor in her chamber. “But what I think is working in our favor on this one is that we have done more than most other states to tackle gun violence and to encourage gun safety,” she said. And “trying to go at it from this angle does give it a shot … because it’s a whole new approach.”
“We can get this done this session,” said Myrie.
The New York State Rifle and Pistol Association’s Tom King called the bill “totally ridiculous” and said the requirements it imposes on the gun industry are far too broad.
“They should’ve put in there ‘lying to your mother’ as well,” he said. “It’s totally absurd, there’s no way that any company can guarantee that their product is not going to be used unlawfully … This is just a backdoor method of gun control and a way of putting gun dealers and gun manufacturers out of business.”'
https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2021/04/29/legislators-mount-effort-on-gun-industry-liability-1378679