Kamala Harris Pushes to Open Up Gun Makers to Lawsuits over Crime

On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris pushed for numerous gun controls, including the removal of protections that shield gun makers from being sued when a legally-made firearm is legally purchased but later used in a crime.

Kamala Harris tweeted, “Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Strengthen background checks. Enact safe storage and red flag laws. Repeal the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from liability. Address the mental health crisis deepened by the trauma of gun violence. Let’s get it done.”

The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) shields gun manufacturers from lawsuits over firearms that are misused after being legally made and legally sold.

The repeal of the PLCAA was an oft-stated goal of President Joe Biden’s even as he campaigned for the White House.

For example, on February 24, 2020, ten months before the presidential election, Biden alluded to the PLCAA then referenced gun manufacturers and said, “I’m going to take you down.”

Since taking office in January 2021, Biden has consistently pushed to open up gun manufacturers to lawsuits. Harris made the same push in her Wednesday tweet.

Harris claimed gun makers have “immunity,” which is something Biden has claimed as well. But gun makers do not have “immunity,” the PLCAA does not protect them in the event that a faulty firearm causes injury. It simply protects them from frivolous lawsuits.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.