Congress shielded gun companies from lawsuits. Some blue states think they’ve found a loophole
Two decades after a Republican-controlled Congress gave gun manufacturers immunity from being sued over crimes committed with their firearms, a growing number of Democratic-led states are trying to penetrate that legal shield. Since 2021, 10 states have passed laws intended to make it easier to sue gun companies. The newest such law, in Connecticut, took effect this month. It opens firearms manufacturers and retailers up to lawsuits if they don’t take steps to prevent guns from getting into the hands of people banned from owning them. The legislation has outraged gun rights advocates, who accuse the states of trying to skirt the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. That law says gun companies cannot be held liable for violent acts committed by people misusing weapons.
