Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed legislation over the weekend barring Arizona and Arizona entities from suing gun makers over the criminal use of firearms that were legally made, marketed, and sold.
The legislation, Senate Bill 1382, was sponsored by State Rep. Quang Nguyen (R) and State Sen. Wendy Rogers (R).
The state-level protections contained in SB 1382 are very similar to the federal protections contained in the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
Ducey released a statement upon signing the bill, saying, “With efforts currently underway in Washington to erode Second Amendment rights, Arizona is taking action to protect those rights.”
He added, “In Arizona, we’re safeguarding manufacturers, sellers, and trade associations. Bad actors need to be held accountable, and we will work to make sure they are. But we’re not going to allow lawsuit after lawsuit to slowly tear down the Constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens in our state.”
President Joe Biden made clear on the campaign trail that he is determined to remove the protections afforded to gun manufacturers under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
During a February 24, 2020, speech in South Carolina he went so far as to call out gun makers and say, “I’m going to take you down.”
SB 1382 is designed to put state protections in place in case Democrats are successful at removing protections at the federal level.
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. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
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