I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 332 

To provide victims of gun violence access to the same civil remedies as 

are available to those injured through other means. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 22, 2013 

Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. 

CARTWRIGHT, Mr. HONDA, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. MORAN, Ms. SLAUGHTER, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. SERRANO) introduced the following bill; 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 

means. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Equal Access to Jus5 tice for Victims of Gun Violence Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) The Protection of Lawful Commerce in 

9 Arms Act (in this subsection referred to as the 


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1 ‘‘PLCAA’’) was enacted with the express purpose of 

2 prohibiting ‘‘causes of action against manufacturers, 

3 distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms or 

4 ammunition products, and their trade associations, 

5 for the harm solely caused by the criminal or unlaw6 ful misuse of firearm products or ammunition prod7 ucts by others when the product functioned as de8 signed and intended.’’. 

9 (2) The intent of the PLCAA was to bar a nar10 row category of lawsuits holding gun industry enti11 ties liable for damages solely on the basis of selling 

12 a product that was used in crime. 

13 (3) The chief sponsor of PLCAA stated during 

14 floor debate, ‘‘This legislation will not bar the court15 house doors to victims who have been harmed by the 

16 negligence or misdeeds of anyone in the gun indus17 try. . . . If manufacturers or dealers break the law 

18 or commit negligence, they are still liable.’’. 

19 (4) It was not the intent of the Congress in the 

20 PLCAA to protect gun or ammunition manufactur21 ers or sellers who failed to exercise reasonable care 

22 for health and safety in the design, marketing, and 

23 sale of their products. 

24 (5) Federal and State courts have read the 

25 PLCAA contrary to its intent, and dismissed civil 


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1 lawsuits based on negligence, product defect, and 

2 other causes of action that are well established in 

3 statute and common law principles. 

4 (6) This special protection from civil liability 

5 enjoyed by the firearm industry is not only contrary 

6 to the congressional intent of the PLCAA, but also 

7 contrary to public safety, and unique among indus8 tries in the United States. 

9 (7) As Congress intended in the PLCAA, the 

10 firearm industry should not be held liable solely be11 cause a product they made or sold was used in 

12 crime, if those companies did not engage in neg13 ligent or otherwise tortious conduct. However, as 

14 Congress also intended in the PLCAA, State or Fed15 eral courts should not be barred from applying State 

16 common or statutory law to impose liability on in17 dustry participants who, through their negligent con18 duct or defective product, cause an injury in which 

19 unlawful activity was also a cause. 

20 (8) As most firearms dealers are responsible 

21 businesspeople who do not engage in negligent sales 

22 practices, 86 percent of firearms dealers sell no guns 

23 that are subsequently used in crimes, and 1.2 per24 cent of firearms dealers sell 57 percent of crime 

25 guns, the overwhelming majority of dealers need no 


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1 special protection from liability for damages result2 ing from the criminal use of guns. 

3 (9) Allowing victims of gun violence to pursue 

4 civil actions in State and Federal courts against the 

5 firearm industry on the basis of negligent behavior 

6 serves the interests of justice and fosters the adop7 tion of responsible business practices likely to reduce 

8 the incidence of firearm deaths. 

9 (10) The Second Amendment rights of law10 abiding citizens are not infringed by allowing State 

11 and Federal courts to impose generally applicable 

12 principles of civil justice law to negligent industry 

13 participants. 

14 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol15 lows: 

16 (1) To ensure that those injured by firearms 

17 have access to the same civil remedies as those in18 jured by any other product and are not restricted 

19 from bringing suits based on statutes and common 

20 law theories of liability in State and Federal court. 

21 (2) To allow plaintiffs to discover and introduce 

22 evidence, including gun trace evidence, into State 

23 and Federal courts where appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 3. EQUAL ACCESS TO CIVIL REMEDIES FOR VICTIMS 

2 OF GUN VIOLENCE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—An action against a manufac4 turer, seller, or trade association for damages or relief re5 sulting from an alleged defect or alleged negligence with 

6 respect to a product, or conduct that would be actionable 

7 under State common or statutory law in the absence of 

8 the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, shall not 

9 be dismissed by a court on the basis that the action is 

10 for damages resulting from, or for relief from, the crimi11 nal, unlawful, or volitional use of a qualified product. 

12 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In subsection (a), the terms 

13 ‘‘manufacturer’’, ‘‘seller’’, ‘‘trade association’’, and ‘‘quali14 fied product’’ shall have the meanings given the terms in 

15 section 4 of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms 

16 Act. 

17 (c) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall apply to 

18 actions brought before, on, or after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 4. DISCOVERABILITY AND ADMISSIBILITY OF GUN 

21 TRACE INFORMATION IN CIVIL PRO22 CEEDINGS. 

23 The contents of the Firearms Trace System database 

24 maintained by the National Trace Center of the Bureau 

25 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives shall not be 

26 immune from legal process, shall be subject to subpoena 


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1 or other discovery, shall be admissible as evidence, and 

2 may be used, relied on, or disclosed in any manner, and 

3 testimony or other evidence may be permitted based on 

4 the data, on the same basis as other information, in a civil 

5 action in any State (including the District of Columbia) 

6 or Federal court or in an administrative proceeding. 

Æ 


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