CA Lawmakers Want To Make Gunmakers More Susceptible To Lawsuits

Sacramento, CA — Gun producers and dealers are protected from civil liability if their products are used to commit crimes.

A coalition of Democratic Assemblymembers has introduced a bill that would allow individual Californians, or the government, to sue manufacturers and sellers of firearms if harm is caused by their products.

The authors of Assembly Bill 1594 are Phil Ting of San Francisco, Chris Ward of San Diego and Mike Gipson of Carson. They argue that the legislation would push gun sellers to take additional steps to prevent guns from getting into the hands of bad actors.

It is complicated because there are federal protections for gunmakers, so a court would need to determine that they are breaking local or state laws related to things such as the sale or marketing of their products.

The California Rifle and Pistol Association is arguing that these types of actions make it more difficult for law-abiding residents to acquire guns for self-defense. The law would put new pressure on sellers.

A similar law was passed in New York last year and it is currently being challenged by lawsuits.