,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ccb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #bb1 #bjac  
,mr4 ,schiff 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,van    
,hollen1 ,mr4 ,meeks1 ,mr4 ,cicilline1  
,mr4 ,cartwright1 ,mr4 ,honda1 ,mr4     
,ellison1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,ms4 ,slaughter1 
,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,ms4 ,norton1 and ,mr4 
,serrano7 introduced the following bill2
 which was referred to the ,committee on
 the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to provide 
victims of gun violence access to the   
same civil remedies as are available to 
those injured through other means4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,equal ,access to ,justice for      
,victims of ,gun ,violence ,act4  #b4   
,findings and purposes  7a7 ,findings   
,the ,congress finds as follows3  7#a7  
,the ,protection of ,lawful ,commerce in
 ,arms ,act 7in this subsection referred
 to as the ,,plcaa7 was enacted with the
 express purpose of prohibiting causes  
of action against manufacturers1        
distributors1 dealers1 and importers of 

firearms or ammunition products1 and    
their trade associations1 for the harm  
solely caused by the criminal or        
unlawful misuse of firearm products or  
ammunition products by others when the  
product functioned as designed and      
intended44  7#b7 ,the intent of the     
,,plcaa was to bar a narrow category of 
lawsuits holding gun industry entities  
liable for damages solely on the basis  
of selling a product that was used in   
crime4  7#c7 ,the chief sponsor of      
,,plcaa stated during floor debate1     
,this legislation will not bar the      
courthouse doors to victims who have    
been harmed by the negligence or        
misdeeds of anyone in the gun industry4 
''' ,if manufacturers or dealers break  
the law or commit negligence1 they are  
still liable44  7#d7 ,it was not the    
intent of the ,congress in the ,,plcaa  
to protect gun or ammunition            
manufacturers or sellers who failed to  
exercise reasonable care for health and 
safety in the design1 marketing1 and    

sale of their products4  7#e7 ,federal  
and ,state courts have read the ,,plcaa 
contrary to its intent1 and dismissed   
civil lawsuits based on negligence1     
product defect1 and other causes of     
action that are well established in     
statute and common law principles4  7#f7
 ,this special protection from civil    
liability enjoyed by the firearm        
industry is not only contrary to the    
congressional intent of the ,,plcaa1 but
 also contrary to public safety1 and    
unique among industries in the ,united  
,states4  7#g7 ,as ,congress intended in
 the ,,plcaa1 the firearm industry      
should not be held liable solely because
 a product they made or sold was used in
 crime1 if those companies did not      
engage in negligent or otherwise        
tortious conduct4 ,however1 as ,congress
 also intended in the ,,plcaa1 ,state or
 ,federal courts should not be barred   
from applying ,state common or statutory
 law to impose liability on industry    
participants who1 through their         

negligent conduct or defective product1 
cause an injury in which unlawful       
activity was also a cause4  7#h7 ,as    
most firearms dealers are responsible   
businesspeople who do not engage in     
negligent sales practices1 #hf percent  
of firearms dealers sell no guns that   
are subsequently used in crimes1 and    
#a4b percent of firearms dealers sell   
#eg percent of crime guns1 the          
overwhelming majority of dealers need no
 special protection from liability for  
damages resulting from the criminal use 
of guns4  7#i7 ,allowing victims of gun 
violence to pursue civil actions in     
,state and ,federal courts against the  
firearm industry on the basis of        
negligent behavior serves the interests 
of justice and fosters the adoption of  
responsible business practices likely to
 reduce the incidence of firearm deaths4
  7#aj7 ,the ,second ,amendment rights  
of law-abiding citizens are not         
infringed by allowing ,state and        
,federal courts to impose generally     

applicable principles of civil justice  
law to negligent industry participants4 
7b7 ,purposes ,the purposes of this ,act
 are as follows3  7#a7 ,to ensure that  
those injured by firearms have access to
 the same civil remedies as those       
injured by any other product and are not
 restricted from bringing suits based on
 statutes and common law theories of    
liability in ,state and ,federal court4 
7#b7 ,to allow plaintiffs to discover   
and introduce evidence1 including gun   
trace evidence1 into ,state and ,federal
 courts where appropriate4  #c4 ,equal  
access to civil remedies for victims of 
gun violence  7a7 ,in general ,an action
 against a manufacturer1 seller1 or     
trade association for damages or relief 
resulting from an alleged defect or     
alleged negligence with respect to a    
product1 or conduct that would be       
actionable under ,state common or       
statutory law in the absence of the     
,protection of ,lawful ,commerce in     
,arms ,act1 shall not be dismissed by a 

court on the basis that the action is   
for damages resulting from1 or for      
relief from1 the criminal1 unlawful1 or 
volitional use of a qualified product4  
7b7 ,definitions ,in subsection 7a71 the
 terms manufacturer1 seller1 trade      
association1 and qualified product shall
 have the meanings given the terms in   
section #d of the ,protection of ,lawful
 ,commerce in ,arms ,act4  7c7          
,applicability ,subsection 7a7 shall    
apply to actions brought before1 on1 or 
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act4  #d4 ,discoverability and         
admissibility of gun trace information  
in civil proceedings ,the contents of   
the ,firearms ,trace ,system database   
maintained by the ,national ,trace      
,center of the ,bureau of ,alcohol1     
,tobacco1 ,firearms and ,explosives     
shall not be immune from legal process1 
shall be subject to subpoena or other   
discovery1 shall be admissible as       
evidence1 and may be used1 relied on1 or
 disclosed in any manner1 and testimony 

or other evidence may be permitted based
 on the data1 on the same basis as other
 information1 in a civil action in any  
,state 7including the ,district of      
,columbia7 or ,federal court or in an   
administrative proceeding4