WASHINGTON - Congress gave the gun lobby its top legislative priority Thursday, passing a bill that would protect the firearms industry from massive lawsuits brought by crime victims. The White House says President Bush will sign it into law.
The House voted 283-144 to send the bill to the president after supporters, led by the National Rifle Association, proclaimed it vital to protect the industry from being bankrupted by huge jury awards. Opponents, waging a tough battle against growing public support for the legislation, called it proof of the gun lobby"s power over the Republican-controlled Congress.
Under the measure, about 20 pending lawsuits by local governments against the industry would be dismissed. The Senate passed the bill in July.
The bill"s passage was the NRA"s top legislative priority and would give Bush and his Republican allies on Capitol Hill a rare victory at a time when some top GOP leaders are under indictment or investigation.
"Lawsuits seeking to hold the firearms industry responsible for the criminal and unlawful use of its products are brazen attempts to accomplish through litigation what has not been achieved by legislation and the democratic process," House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., told his colleagues.
Katrina momentum
Propelled by GOP election gains and the incidents of lawlessness associated with the passing of Hurricane Katrina, support for the bill has grown since a similar measure passed the House last year and was killed in the Senate.
Horrific images of people without the protection of public safety in New Orleans made a particular impression on viewers who had never before felt unsafe, according to the gun lobby.
"Americans saw a complete collapse of the government"s ability to protect them," said Wayne LaPierre, the NRA"s executive vice president.
"That burnt in, those pictures of people standing there defending their lives and defending their property and their family," he added, "where the one source of comfort was a firearm."
With support from new Republicans who arrived for this session of Congress, the bill passed the Senate for the first time in July. House passage never was in doubt because it had 257 co-sponsors, far more than the 218 needed to pass.
The bill"s authors say the bill still allows civil suits against individual parties who have been found guilty of criminal wrongdoing by the courts. Critics cite D.C. sniper Opponents say the strength of the bill"s support is testament to the influence of the gun lobby. If the bill had been law when the relatives of six victims of convicted Washington-area snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo sued the gun dealer from which they obtained their rifle, the dealer would not have agreed to pay the families and victims $2.5 million, they said.
"It is shameful that Republicans in Congress are pushing legislation that guarantees their gun-dealing cronies receive special treatment and are above the law," said Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Calif.
The Brady Campaign, which campaigns to control firearms, said it would challenge the legislation"s constitutionality in court.
Dennis Henigan, director of the Brady Center"s Legal Action Project, said, "This shameful law will not stand. We will challenge the constitutionality of this special interest extravaganza in every court where the rights of gun violence victims are being threatened."
"This bill is an unprecedented attack on the due process rights of victims injured by the misconduct of an industry that seeks to escape the legal rules that govern the rest of us," he added. Product lawsuits still allowed
Bush has said he supports the bill, which would prohibit lawsuits against the firearms industry for damages resulting from the unlawful use of a firearm or ammunition. Gun makers and dealers still would be subject to product liability, negligence or breach of contract suits, the bill"s authors say.
Democrats and Republicans alike court the NRA at election time, and the bill has garnered bipartisan support. But the firearms industry still gave 88 percent of its campaign contributions, or $1.2 million, to Republicans in the 2004 election cycle.
Gun control advocates, meanwhile, gave 98 percent of their contributions, or $93,700, to Democrats that cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
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Even though this bill enjoyed a good measure of bipartisanship, I can't help but wonder if a President Kerry would have signed it or vetoed it.
I guess the best indicator is the fact that on July 29 when S. 397 was voted on in the Senate, both of MA's Senators Kerry and Kennedy voted against it. The Senate vote was bipartisan as well, 65-31.
(a) SHORT TITLE- This section may be cited as the `Child Safety Lock Act of 2005'.
(b) PURPOSES- The purposes of this section are--
(1) to promote the safe storage and use of handguns by consumers;
(2) to prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access to or use of a handgun, including children who may not be in possession of a handgun; and
(3) to avoid hindering industry from supplying firearms to law abiding citizens for all lawful purposes, including hunting, self-defense, collecting, and competitive or recreational shooting.
(c) FIREARMS SAFETY-
(1) MANDATORY TRANSFER OF SECURE GUN STORAGE OR SAFETY DEVICE- Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following:
`(z) SECURE GUN STORAGE OR SAFETY DEVICE-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Except as provided under paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer any handgun to any person other than any person licensed under this chapter, unless the transferee is provided with a secure gun storage or safety device (as defined in section 921(a)(34)) for that handgun.
`(2) EXCEPTIONS- Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
`(A)(i) the manufacture for, transfer to, or possession by, the United States, a department or agency of the United States, a State, or a department, agency, or political subdivision of a State, of a handgun; or
`(ii) the transfer to, or possession by, a law enforcement officer employed by an entity referred to in clause (i) of a handgun for law enforcement purposes (whether on or off duty); or
`(B) the transfer to, or possession by, a rail police officer employed by a rail carrier and certified or commissioned as a police officer under the laws of a State of a handgun for purposes of law enforcement (whether on or off duty);
`(C) the transfer to any person of a handgun listed as a curio or relic by the Secretary pursuant to section 921(a)(13); or
`(D) the transfer to any person of a handgun for which a secure gun storage or safety device is temporarily unavailable for the reasons described in the exceptions stated in section 923(e), if the licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer delivers to the transferee within 10 calendar days from the date of the delivery of the handgun to the transferee a secure gun storage or safety device for the handgun.
`(3) LIABILITY FOR USE-
`(A) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person who has lawful possession and control of a handgun, and who uses a secure gun storage or safety device with the handgun, shall be entitled to immunity from a qualified civil liability action.
`(B) PROSPECTIVE ACTIONS- A qualified civil liability action may not be brought in any Federal or State court.
`(C) DEFINED TERM- As used in this paragraph, the term `qualified civil liability action'--
`(i) means a civil action brought by any person against a person described in subparagraph (A) for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of the handgun by a third party, if--
`(I) the handgun was accessed by another person who did not have the permission or authorization of the person having lawful possession and control of the handgun to have access to it; and
`(II) at the time access was gained by the person not so authorized, the handgun had been made inoperable by use of a secure gun storage or safety device; and
`(ii) shall not include an action brought against the person having lawful possession and control of the handgun for negligent entrustment or negligence per se.'.
(2) CIVIL PENALTIES- Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking `or (f)' and inserting `(f), or (p)'; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
`(p) PENALTIES RELATING TO SECURE GUN STORAGE OR SAFETY DEVICE-
`(1) IN GENERAL-
`(A) SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF LICENSE; CIVIL PENALTIES- With respect to each violation of section 922(z)(1) by a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer, the Secretary may, after notice and opportunity for hearing--
`(i) suspend for not more than 6 months, or revoke, the license issued to the licensee under this chapter that was used to conduct the firearms transfer; or
`(ii) subject the licensee to a civil penalty in an amount equal to not more than $2,500.
`(B) REVIEW- An action of the Secretary under this paragraph may be reviewed only as provided under section 923(f).
`(2) ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES- The suspension or revocation of a license or the imposition of a civil penalty under paragraph (1) shall not preclude any administrative remedy that is otherwise available to the Secretary.'.
(3) LIABILITY; EVIDENCE-
(A) LIABILITY- Nothing in this section shall be construed to--
(i) create a cause of action against any Federal firearms licensee or any other person for any civil liability; or
(ii) establish any standard of care.
(B) EVIDENCE- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, evidence regarding compliance or noncompliance with the amendments made by this section shall not be admissible as evidence in any proceeding of any court, agency, board, or other entity, except with respect to an action relating to section 922(z) of title 18, United States Code, as added by this subsection.
(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to bar a governmental action to impose a penalty under section 924(p) of title 18, United States Code, for a failure to comply with section 922(z) of that title.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE- This section and the amendments made by this section shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION.
(a) Unlawful Acts- Section 922(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraphs (7) and (8) and inserting the following:
`(7) for any person to manufacture or import armor piercing ammunition, unless--
`(A) the manufacture of such ammunition is for the use of the United States, any department or agency of the United States, any State, or any department, agency, or political subdivision of a State;
`(B) the manufacture of such ammunition is for the purpose of exportation; or
`(C) the manufacture or importation of such ammunition is for the purpose of testing or experimentation and has been authorized by the Attorney General;
`(8) for any manufacturer or importer to sell or deliver armor piercing ammunition, unless such sale or delivery--
`(A) is for the use of the United States, any department or agency of the United States, any State, or any department, agency, or political subdivision of a State;
`(B) is for the purpose of exportation; or
`(C) is for the purpose of testing or experimentation and has been authorized by the Attorney General;'.
(b) Penalties- Section 924(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(5) Except to the extent that a greater minimum sentence is otherwise provided under this subsection, or by any other provision of law, any person who, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime (including a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime that provides for an enhanced punishment if committed by the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon or device) for which the person may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, uses or carries armor piercing ammunition, or who, in furtherance of any such crime, possesses armor piercing ammunition, shall, in addition to the punishment provided for such crime of violence or drug trafficking crime or conviction under this section--
`(A) be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years; and
`(B) if death results from the use of such ammunition--
`(i) if the killing is murder (as defined in section 1111), be punished by death or sentenced to a term of imprisonment for any term of years or for life; and
`(ii) if the killing is manslaughter (as defined in section 1112), be punished as provided in section 1112.'.
(c) Study and Report-
(1) STUDY- The Attorney General shall conduct a study to determine whether a uniform standard for the testing of projectiles against Body Armor is feasible.
(2) ISSUES TO BE STUDIED- The study conducted under paragraph (1) shall include--
(A) variations in performance that are related to the length of the barrel of the handgun or center-fire rifle from which the projectile is fired; and
(B) the amount of powder used to propel the projectile.
(3) REPORT- Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit a report containing the results of the study conducted under this subsection to--
(A) the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
(B) the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
Passed the Senate July 29, 2005.[/align]
Leave it to Rick Reno to find the gray lining in the silver cloud.
As it stands, Manufacturing A-P ammo is already illegal, check it out for yourself. The new law will change nothing in this area. If they had to attach a ban ongay oral sex with goats to this bill, I'm sure some of you would be complaining about that as well.
Gun locks? Yes it sucks that gun dealers now have to provide a cheap gun lock with the purchase of a handgun. In the great scheme of things, this is moot point. If I'm not mistaken, most, if not all new handguns already come with a trigger lock or ILS lock, used guns will just have to be sold coupled with a $0.50 lock now to make the transfer legal from a dealer. Its a feel good law that does nothing but pay back Sen Kohl's campaign contributors from Master Lock, but if that is all that the democommies had enough clout to attach to this bill, I can live with it. If I'm going to spend $300-1500 on a handgun, and extra $1 isn't going to make or break the deal, especially if it helps guarantee that the gun manufacturer isn't going to be sued out of business next year by the next socialist city attorney with lots of free time and nothing to lose.
Its the difference between being a pragmatist and a dreamer.
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Gun makers get Protection
