The House last week cleared a bill that would make it harder to sue gun makers for liability in certain accidents, but the Senate never took it up on the floor.
The measure (HB 1551) carried by Rep. Wyman Duggan would have shielded 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 an optional feature such as a safety, loaded chamber indicator, magazine disconnect mechanism or any mechanism that would perform similarly.
While the bill would have applied to all gun manufacturers, SIG SAUER in particular is facing several lawsuits across the nation over alleged issues with its P320 handgun, which litigants have said can sometimes fire without a trigger pull. The bill language is prospective and would not have impacted pending lawsuits.
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.
Duggan offered a powerful defense of the measure, after several Democrats unsuccessfully filed amendments to soften language and spoke fervently against the overall bill, comparing its intent to consumers who choose to purchase a vehicle without certain optional safety features. He specifically referenced the blind spot indicator some modern vehicles now include to notify drivers when a car is beside them and it is thus unsafe to change lanes.
“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.”
Sen. Jay Trumbull carried a similar bill in the Senate, but it cleared just one of three referred Committees.
It’s unclear whether lawmakers might make another attempt next Legislative Session to pass the bill.
