By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Massachusetts Republicans and gun rights advocates are fighting legislation which would ostensibly allow lawsuits against gun makers, while also working to repeal a restrictive 2024 gun control law.
The Boston Herald reported on the proposed law, dubbed the “Gun Violence Victims’ Access to Justice Act,” which would make gun manufacturers accountable for crimes committed with their products.
At least one lawmaker—Republican State Sen. Peter Durant—reportedly observed during last Friday’s hearing, “We don’t do that in so many other industries. If someone takes a car and drives through a crowd of people, we don’t sue Ford for that. We prosecute the crimes where they occur.”
This legislation, if adopted, could be on a collision course with the 20-year-old Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, a federal law signed by then-President George W. Bush. This statute prohibits junk/harassment lawsuits against firearms manufacturers which try to hold them liable for crimes committed by third parties over whom they have no control, and who may have the guns illegally. Contrary to some claims by anti-gunners, firearms manufacturers may still be sued for defective products.
As noted by the Herald report, under terms of the proposed legislation, gun makers, importers, retailers and wholesalers would be “required to take ‘reasonable precautions’ to ensure that firearms aren’t designed, sold and advertised, to promote the conversion of legal products into illegal products, or in a way that targets minors or individuals prohibited from possessing guns.”
It is not entirely clear what constitutes “reasonable precautions.”
Meanwhile, WWLP reported on a hearing held last Friday on the 2024 legislation “which has been a point of contention since its passage.” This is Chapter 135, described by the media as a “landmark firearms law.”
At that hearing, Toby Leary, chairman of the Civil Rights Coalition, reportedly stated to supporters of the law, “You hate the Second Amendment and continually show us that by abusing the power that was granted to you by the people.”
The Boston Herald noted that Sen. Durant also chimed in, calling the law “one of the most significant infringements on the rights of law-abiding gun owners that we’ve seen in Massachusetts in decades.”
