PLCAA
One can give you an upset stomach. The other can blow your stomach out!
You can sue a milk producer for bad milk. But you can't sue a gun maker for the harm their assault weapons cause! Why? Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). Consider two headlines from today (Sep 22,2024):
Massive manhunt underway after Alabama mass shooting leaves 4 dead, 18 injured - AL
Lactaid Milk voluntarily recalled in 27 states over almond allergen risk - USA Today
How is that Gun Makers can't be held accountable for the injuries and deaths their weapons cause? Who weakens gun safety laws so more people can get their lethal weapons of war? Who does the gun lobby blood money donations go to for such lenient treatment while Americans are slaughtered? Follow the money!
Read Joseph Harrington's idea on how to hold gun makers accountable, without restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
Follow the blood money that lets gun makers dodge responsibility
Follow the Gun Lobby blood money donations
Money talks. Blood money talks louder.
Gun lobby donations - Open Secrets
Senate Republicans block assault weapons ban, background checks bill - The Hill
"The scale and depravity of gun violence is the US is so immense that people have difficulty in comprehending the true nature of the threat. After mass tragedies, many Americans pay attention for a few weeks and then look away because the reality of gun violence is incomprehensible; it requires sustained effort and discipline to hold the immensity of the threat in mind.
Each of us must make gun safety activism a part of our daily regime. It does not matter how many other causes we join; leaving gun-safety activism to others is no longer acceptable. An assassin’s bullet came within inches of upending the US presidential election and civil order in the US. It is only a matter of time before there is another assault rifle mass shooting in a school, workplace, or public space. It has to stop—and it won’t until gun safety is the top issue in every race." - Robert Hubbell
Read the full report on Open Secrets
How to fix the PLCCA loophole that let's gun makers dodge accountability
"Under the PLCAA, firearms manufacturers and merchants have limited immunity from civil liability for injuries and damage caused by illegal use of firearms that were sold legally; full legal liability remains in place for reckless or grossly negligent arms transfers, and for damage or injury due to faulty design or operation of a weapon.
The PLCAA was enacted to protect law-abiding arms merchants from far-reaching claims of liability for gun violence. The problem with the PLCAA is that, once a legal gun sale is completed, gun merchants are mostly off-the-hook for any subsequent costs to individuals and society arising from that gun. A gun seller's exposure largely ends after it checks all the right boxes. That's not the case for the rest of us.
When a mass shooting happens, there is soul-searching and legal accountability for all potentially liable parties, including those that may have been victimized themselves in the incident. With the PLCAA in place, almost everyone except the party that provided the weapon can be held liable. Our potential liability starts the moment the gun is sold, and never ends. - Joseph S. Harrington
How to hold gun makers accountable
"Instead of gun sellers enjoying a presumption of no liability for legally sold firearms, I propose that anyone selling or giving a gun to someone else should be held automatically liable up to a limited amount (perhaps $15,000) for any damage or injury arising from illegal use of that gun. Other determinants and defenses for legal liability, including self-defense, would be unaffected.
This proposal would have no impact on a citizen's ability to own a gun or use it legally. People who keep track of their weapons, store them securely, and are trained to use them properly wouldn't incur the liability penalty. My proposal targets the flow of guns, not law-abiding gun owners.
The purpose is to establish an incentive for everyone in firearms commerce to take enduring responsibility for the guns they sell. People will be more careful about who they sell guns to, and what becomes of those guns later on, if they know they will take a financial hit for any damage or injury caused by illegal use of those guns.
For those who buy and sell firearms, it is not unfair--or unconstitutional--to accept a share of the risks and costs created by that trade, risks and costs that currently fall almost entirely on victims and the general public." - Joseph Harrington
Read Joseph Harrington's proposal
TakeAway: Vote for Kamala Harris and Democrats for common sense gun safety reforms.
Deepak
DemLabs
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Resources:
Newtown Action Alliance - A national all-volunteer grassroots organization founded by Newtown residents after the tragic 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting where 20 children and six educators were senselessly gunned down. We are a group of advocates, families of victims and survivors of gun violence, who are working to transform our tragedy into meaningful action to end gun violence.
Change The Ref - CHANGE THE REF raises awareness about mass shootings. It works to reduce the influence of the NRA and gun manufacturers through strategic interventions and by using art as a form of communication.
Campaign for Gun Industry Accountability - Works to highlight and change the fact that guns are the only consumer product manufactured in the United States that are not subject to federal health and safety regulation.
Survivors Empowered - a non-profit organization that directly supports and educates gun violence survivors, including the family and friends of shooting victims, as well as shooting survivors themselves.
Thanks—a brilliant article which needs shared to all victims’ families.