The D.C. Council is being asked to join New York and several other states that are making it easier for people to sue gun manufacturers for gun violence.
Ward 5 Council member Zachary Parker has introduced the measure that would allow the D.C. Attorney General and District residents to sue gun makers for the harm caused by the manufacture and sale of firearms.
The measure would even allow gun makers to be sued for failing to prevent gun trafficking.
The measure has broad support in the D.C. Council. But the D.C. proposal, New York law and other similar state laws might conflict with a 2005 federal law that protects gun makers from liability.
The 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act specifies that gun sales and transactions are legal commerce carried out under the umbrella of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Parker said his measure is a way to exhaust every opportunity to limit guns in D.C.
“There are too many guns that are costing too many lives in the District, and it is well past time for us to take meaningful action to counter the traumas of gun violence in our communities,” Parker said.
Today, I’m proud to introduce the Establishment of Reasonable Controls for the Firearm Industry Amendment Act of 2023. There are simply too many guns in the District, and too many victims of gun violence. This bill is one of many steps I am taking to address gun violence in DC. pic.twitter.com/JETxkxhclL
— Councilmember Zachary Parker (@CMZParker5) April 11, 2023
