Brad Carson: “I rise in support of H.R. 1036, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. As my esteemed colleagues have discussed…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 1036, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. As my esteemed colleagues have discussed, H.R. 1036 would prohibit civil lawsuits from being brought against gun manufacturers by parties that have been injured by the unlawful use of firearms. Mr. Chairman, I am a great believer in personal responsibility. It is one of the key principles upon which America was founded. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act would strengthen this great notion. Imposing liability on an entire industry for harm caused solely by the unlawful actions of others is an abuse of the United States legal system--it undermines public confidence in our judicial system and threatens the viability of law-abiding companies. Frivolous lawsuits against the firearm industry are nothing more than an attack on the Second Amendment. It seems a logical anti-gun tactic to me, if you can't lawfully prevent the sale of guns, then you go after the people who sell guns and make them afraid to sell their lawful products for fear of incurring substantial financial liability. Thus far, these frivolous and merit-less lawsuits have had little success in court. Their only success is in placing an enormous financial burden on gun manufacturers. However, these litigation costs are then passed onto consumers and makes it more difficult law-abiding citizens to own guns. In the end, the ones who suffer the most are law- abiding consumers.”