Ted Deutch: “We know the intentions behind the bill before us today, H.R. 1927, the so-called Fairness in Class Action Litigation…”

“We know the intentions behind the bill before us today, H.R. 1927, the so-called Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act. The goal of this bill isn't to protect consumers. The goal of this bill is to wipe out class action lawsuits and to deprive consumers of their ability to band their resources together to take large corporations to court for defective and, many times, dangerous products. We have heard from many of my colleagues already today about the problems this bill creates, and I agree that this is a bad bill. But it is a uniquely bad bill for one group in particular: gun owners. That is right, gun owners--law-abiding Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights who suffer injury or even death when gun manufacturers sell defective and ultrahazardous weapons. Every year, many gun owners and innocent bystanders are killed when a firearm discharges just at being set down on the ground, when a faulty safety leaves a child dead, when an experienced and safety-conscious gun owner is the victim of a deadly malfunction. Unique to consumer products, no Federal safety agency has the authority to issue a recall of a defectively manufactured firearm. Indeed, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has jurisdiction and oversight to ensure that more than 15,000 household and recreation products are safe for consumers.…”