Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Biden Plots Sneak Attack Against U.S. Firearms Industry

Monday, January 25, 2021

Biden Plots Sneak Attack Against U.S. Firearms Industry

Joe Biden has unveiled his agenda for his first 100 days in the White House, and his list includes an initiative aimed at nothing less than the destruction of the U.S. firearms industry. This is what would happen if Biden succeeds in his pledge to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

Imagine if firearm manufactures and sellers – even those who strictly followed the laws enacted to regulate their industry – faced potential civil liability every time a criminal misused a firearm. The effect would be similar to holding automobile makers and dealers responsible for injuries caused by drunk drivers. No business, no matter how conscientious and law-abiding, could ever survive being liable for the acts of millions of random people over whom it had no control.

And that is exactly why the law generally imposes no duty on a person or entity to control the acts of third persons to prevent them from causing harm (unless the person or entity has certain types of relationships with those causing the harm or being harmed).

Yet gun control activists in and outside of government hoped to rewrite that principle when it came to the makers and sellers of firearms. During the 1980s and ‘90s, a coordinated series of lawsuits against the gun industry sought to hold these businesses responsible for the criminal acts third parties committed with firearms.

The plaintiffs knew they faced an uphill climb legally, but winning cases wasn’t necessarily the point. They could also prevail by bankrupting the targets of their predatory litigation by forcing them to defend multiple suits simultaneously in courts throughout the nation or by extorting industry members to adopt “best practices” that required them to follow the terms of unsuccessful gun control legislation. 

This egregious abuse of the legal system to destroy an industry providing constitutionally protected goods and services sparked a bipartisan response from coast to coast. Thirty-four states passed laws to block these suits in their own courts. Finally, in 2005, Congress followed these examples by enacting the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to provide a floor of protection nationwide.

While portrayed by opponents as providing “extraordinary” immunity to the firearms industry, the essence of the PLCAA is simply that the gun industry would be subject to the same rules of third party liability that apply to other businesses. Thus, the PLCAA prohibits, in state or federal court, a civil action or administrative proceeding by any person against a manufacturer or seller of a firearm, ammunition, or “component part” thereof, or a trade association, for harms resulting from the criminal/unlawful misuse of the product by the person or a third party.

Contrary to the way the PLCAA is portrayed by the antigun media and other opponents, it does not provide “absolute immunity” to unscrupulous gun companies. Most common and legitimate forms of recovery are still available to plaintiffs under the PLCAA, including those based on the manufacturers’ or sellers’ own violations of gun control laws or laws governing the sale or marketing of the products; negligent entrustment by sellers; breach of contract or warranty; design or manufacturing defects (when the harm was not caused by a volitional criminal act); and enforcement of federal gun control laws.

In other words, while the PLCAA has been successfully used to block litigation arising from the behavior of third parties, it allows various sorts of suits alleging harm from the manufacturers’ and sellers’ own bad actions.

Yet even relative parity under the law is too much for Joe Biden and his gun control collaborators. That is exactly why Biden pledged during the campaign to repeal the PLCAA and why his agenda for his first 100 days in office includes introducing legislation to accomplish this goal.

Eliminating a defense to certain forms of civil liability is not a move likely to generate the same kinds of headlines as gun bans and mandatory taxing or surrender programs (also features of Biden’s larger gun control agenda).

But make no mistake, repeal of the PLCAA would potentially have even more devastating impacts than new federal prohibitions on the types of firearms Americans could own. That is because it would leave to the imaginations of thousands of greedy trial lawyers and activist judges reasons for why this or that type of firearm or ammunition is “too dangerous” to be available to the American public. These suits, moreover, would undoubtedly be underwritten by any number of billionaire activists, creating a litigation war chest that no single player in the gun industry could match.

Congress saw the existential threat these tactics posed to the industries that support America’s Second Amendment, as well as its defense and security infrastructure. That is why the PLCAA enjoyed broad bi-partisan support, including from the likes of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

But politics change, and now Biden believes there is an appetite in his caucus to inflict mortal damage to the U.S. firearms industry.

The NRA is determined to prevent that. But well need your help. More than ever, gun owners will need to be active and engaged to defend their freedoms in this perilous new political climate

TRENDING NOW
First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

California officials’ egregious foot-dragging over the issuance of carry permits has finally attracted the ire of the federal Department of Justice (DOJ). 

NRA Files Another Lawsuit Challenging the National Firearms Act

Thursday, October 9, 2025

NRA Files Another Lawsuit Challenging the National Firearms Act

Today, the National Rifle Association—along with the American Suppressor Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and Second Amendment Foundation—announced the filing of another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

Last Monday, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the U.S. Department of Commerce published a final rule that reversed a crackdown on the commercial export of firearms from the U.S. to other countries.

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

Monday, October 13, 2025

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

For someone who has claimed to be"...deeply mindful and respectful of the Second Amendment and people’s Constitutional rights,” Governor Gavin Newsom has once again proven that actions speak louder than words.

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Ban on Firearms Possession by Nonviolent Felons

Thursday, October 9, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Ban on Firearms Possession by Nonviolent Felons

Today, the National Rifle Association, along with the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, and FPC Action Foundation, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the federal lifetime prohibition on ...

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Yesterday, in Butler v. Bondi, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama held that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives exceeded its statutory authority by issuing its 2024 Final Rule expanding ...

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

There’s an old saying that rings especially true to Second Amendment supporters: If you don’t read the news, you’re uninformed.

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that Americans know the President Donald Trump-led Republican Party has a better plan than their Democratic Party opponents on crime and gun control.

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

News  

Monday, September 29, 2025

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

There have been multiple developments on the Canadian gun grab and ban in the last few days, but the most astounding has got to be a leaked bombshell recording of the Liberal Public Safety Minister, ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.