Bill shielding gun manufacturers from product liability related to consumer choices clears House

The House has passed a bill that would make it harder to sue gun makers for liability in certain accidents.

The measure (HB 1551) carried by Rep. Wyman Duggan cleared the chamber on a 75-29 vote along party lines, with Democrats speaking passionately against it. Three amendments from Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon meant to weaken the bill also failed along party lines.

The measure has now been sent to the Senate, where it has been referred to the Rules Committee. The Senate Rules Committee is not currently scheduled for any additional meetings this Session, but it has the authority to call them.

Duggan’s bill, if passed, would shield gun manufacturers from liability by barring lawsuits against them based on the absence of optional features, such as a safety, if they are not required under federal law.

Under the bill, a lawsuit related to product liability could not be based on the absence of a safety, loaded chamber indicator, magazine disconnect mechanism or any mechanism that would perform similarly.

While the bill would apply to all gun manufacturers, SIG SAUER is facing several lawsuits across the nation over alleged issues with its P320 handgun, which litigants have claimed can sometimes fire without a trigger pull.

Reports suggest there have been more than 400 incidents nationwide involving allegations the P320 discharging without a trigger pull, though lawsuits brought so far have not proven that claim.

Nixon’s amendments, all of which failed, would have softened language in the bill, including by allowing lawsuits based on a manufacturer’s duty to warn if there are potential problems with its products.

She, along with other Democrats, argued the measure would provide immunity to SIG SAUER — and potentially other gun manufacturers — at the risk of public safety, including law enforcement and law-abiding gun owners. Nixon called her amendments “commonsense gun law.”

“We should not be shielding bad actors,” she said.

And Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani offered a passionate plea on the House floor.

“Executives knew there was a problem and decided not to do anything about it because of the cost,” she claimed.

But Duggan fired back, comparing the intent in his bill to consumers who choose to purchase a vehicle without certain optional safety features, such as a “blind spot light indicator in your side view mirror that many vehicles have now.”

“If somebody is coming up in your blind spot, that feature in your side view mirror comes on, and you can see that without having to turn your head,” Duggan explained.

“The analogy is, if you purchase a car without that, without that option, that doesn’t make the car defective. That’s an option that you elected to have or not have. That’s what this legislation is doing.”

The NRA supports the bill.

A similar Senate version of the bill (SB 1748), from Republican Sen. Jay Trumbull, cleared just one of three Committee stops.