IB 
Union Calendar No. 37
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1036
[Report No. 108–59] 
To prohibit civil liability actions from being brought or continued against 
manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms or ammuni-
tion for damages resulting from the misuse of their products by others. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2003
Mr. STEARNS (for himself, Mr. JOHN, Ms. HART, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. 
PEARCE, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. LEWIS of Ken-
tucky, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. PUTNAM, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mrs. 
CAPITO, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. FORBES, Mr. GOODE, Mr. ROGERS of Ala-
bama, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. BROWN 
of South Carolina, Mr. HILL, Mr. MICA, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. BUR-
GESS, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. TURNER of Ohio, Mr. 
MURPHY, Mr. HALL, Mrs. NORTHUP, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California, 
Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. GERLACH, 
Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. GINGREY, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. PITTS, Mr. 
MCINNIS, Mr. AKIN, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, Mr. 
FOLEY, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. 
NETHERCUTT, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. NEY, Mr. WILSON of 
South Carolina, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. REHBERG, Mr. VITTER, Mr. 
CANNON, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. SCHROCK, 
Mr. ROSS, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. PETERSON of Min-
nesota, Mr. CRANE, Mr. HERGER, Mr. PENCE, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. 
CHOCOLA, Mr. BOYD, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. CARSON of Okla-
homa, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. KELLER, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. 
CUNNINGHAM, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. TERRY, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. 
CALVERT, Mr. WICKER, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. BUYER, Mr. BEAUPREZ, Mr. 
DINGELL, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. 
MATHESON, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mr. DAVIS of Ten-
nessee, Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. BACA, Mr. WALDEN 
of Oregon, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. ISSA, Mr. 
DEMINT, Mr. MORAN of Kansas, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. SMITH of Michigan, 
Mr. WELLER, Mr. RENZI, Mr. UPTON, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr.
COBLE, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. BASS, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. 
SOUDER, Mr. BURR, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. CANTOR, Mrs. 
MYRICK, Mr. BERRY, Mr. JANKLOW, Mr. TIBERI, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS 
of Virginia, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. TAYLOR of Mis-
sissippi, Mr. JENKINS, Mr. POMBO, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. CARTER, Mr. 
NORWOOD, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. LUCAS 
of Oklahoma, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. KING of 
Iowa, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. NUNES, Mr. COX, Mr. 
OTTER, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. DELAY, Mr. KLINE, Mr. BARTLETT of Mary-
land, Mr. GRAVES, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire, 
Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. LINDER, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. 
CRAMER, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. HAYES, Mr. GORDON, Mr. 
CRENSHAW, Mr. FLETCHER, Mr. COLE, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. CARDOZA, 
Mr. WAMP, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. 
CULBERSON, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. 
OXLEY, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. ISTOOK, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. 
LAHOOD, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. HULSHOF, Mr. NUSSLE, Mr. BARRETT 
of South Carolina, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. BONNER, Mr. HASTINGS of 
Washington, Mr. SWEENEY, Mr. REYES, Mr. WOLF, Mr. DAVIS of Ala-
bama, Mr. GOSS, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. 
LOBIONDO, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. HYDE, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mrs. 
EMERSON, Mr. SANDLIN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. REG-
ULA, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. BAKER, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. 
TANNER, Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. BONILLA, Mr. SESSIONS, Ms. HARRIS, 
Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. MCCRERY, Mr. COLLINS, Mr. DREIER, Mr. FEENEY, 
Mrs. BONO, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. 
PLATTS, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. CAMP, Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. 
TURNER of Texas, Mr. OSE, Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. WELDON 
of Pennsylvania, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
MOLLOHAN, Mrs. MUSGRAVE, Mr. COMBEST, Mr. CHABOT, Ms. GRANG-
ER, Mr. SHERWOOD, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. 
KELLY, Mr. BURNS, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. 
GILLMOR, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. PORTER, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. 
TIAHRT, and Mr. RYUN of Kansas) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
APRIL 7, 2003
Additional sponsors: Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. QUINN, Mr. COOPER, Mr. 
GILCHREST, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico, Mr. 
BILIRAKIS, and Mr. GALLEGLY
APRIL 7, 2003 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 27, 2003] 
A BILL 
To prohibit civil liability actions from being brought or con-
tinued against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or 
importers of firearms or ammunition for damages result-
ing from the misuse of their products by others.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protection of Lawful 
Commerce in Arms Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Citizens have a right, protected by the Sec-
ond Amendment to the United States Constitution, to 
keep and bear arms. 
(2) Lawsuits have been commenced against man-
ufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of fire-
arms that operate as designed and intended, which 
seek money damages and other relief for the harm 
caused by the misuse of firearms by third parties, in-
cluding criminals. 
(3) The manufacture, importation, possession, 
sale, and use of firearms and ammunition in the
United States are heavily regulated by Federal, State, 
and local laws. Such Federal laws include the Gun 
Control Act of 1968, the National Firearms Act, and 
the Arms Export Control Act. 
(4) Businesses in the United States that are en-
gaged in interstate and foreign commerce through the 
lawful design, manufacture, marketing, distribution, 
importation, or sale to the public of firearms or am-
munition that has been shipped or transported in 
interstate or foreign commerce are not, and should 
not, be liable for the harm caused by those who crimi-
nally or unlawfully misuse firearm products or am-
munition products that function as designed and in-
tended. 
(5) The possibility of imposing liability on an 
entire industry for harm that is solely caused by oth-
ers is an abuse of the legal system, erodes public con-
fidence in our Nation’s laws, threatens the diminu-
tion of a basic constitutional right and civil liberty, 
invites the disassembly and destabilization of other 
industries and economic sectors lawfully competing in 
the free enterprise system of the United States, and 
constitutes an unreasonable burden on interstate and 
foreign commerce of the United States.
(6) The liability actions commenced or con-
templated by the Federal Government, States, munici-
palities, and private interest groups are based on 
theories without foundation in hundreds of years of 
the common law and jurisprudence of the United 
States and do not represent a bona fide expansion of 
the common law. The possible sustaining of these ac-
tions by a maverick judicial officer or petit jury 
would expand civil liability in a manner never con-
templated by the Framers of the Constitution, by the 
Congress, or by the legislatures of the several states. 
Such an expansion of liability would constitute a 
deprivation of the rights, privileges, and immunities 
guaranteed to a citizen of the United States under the 
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitu-
tion. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol-
lows: 
(1) To prohibit causes of action against manu-
facturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of fire-
arms or ammunition products for the harm caused by 
the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearm products 
or ammunition products by others when the product 
functioned as designed and intended.