branch of the Government by regulating interstate 
and foreign commerce through judgments and judicial 
decrees, thereby threatening the separation of powers 
doctrine and weakening and undermining important 
principles of federalism, State sovereignty, and com-
ity among the several States. 
(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, and their trade asso-
ciations, for the harm solely caused by the criminal 
or unlawful misuse of firearm products or ammuni-
tion products by others when the product functioned 
as designed and intended. 
(2) To preserve a citizen’s access to a supply of 
firearms and ammunition for all lawful purposes, in-
cluding hunting, self-defense, collecting, and competi-
tive or recreational shooting. 
(3) To guarantee a citizen’s rights, privileges, 
and immunities, as applied to the States, under the 
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitu-
tion, pursuant to section 5 of that Amendment.
(4) To prevent the use of such lawsuits to impose 
unreasonable burdens on interstate and foreign com-
merce. 
(5) To protect the right, under the First Amend-
ment to the Constitution, of manufacturers, distribu-
tors, dealers, and importers of firearms or ammuni-
tion products, and trade associations, to speak freely, 
to assemble peaceably, and to petition the Government 
for a redress of their grievances. 
(6) To preserve and protect the separation of 
powers doctrine and important principles of fed-
eralism, State sovereignty, and comity among the sev-
eral States. 
(7) To exercise the power of Congress under arti-
cle IV, section 1 of the United States Constitution to 
carry out the full faith and credit clause. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON BRINGING OF QUALIFIED CIVIL LI-
ABILITY ACTIONS IN FEDERAL OR STATE 
COURT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A qualified civil liability action 
may not be brought in any Federal or State court. 
(b) DISMISSAL OF PENDING ACTIONS.—A qualified 
civil liability action that is pending on the date of the en-
actment of this Act shall be dismissed immediately by the
court in which the action was brought or is currently pend-
ing. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘en-
gaged in the business’’ has the meaning given that 
term in section 921(a)(21) of title 18, United States 
Code, and, as applied to a seller of ammunition, 
means a person who devotes time, attention, and 
labor to the sale of ammunition as a regular course 
of trade or business with the principal objective of 
livelihood and profit through the sale or distribution 
of ammunition. 
(2) MANUFACTURER.—The term ‘‘manufacturer’’ 
means, with respect to a qualified product, a person 
who is engaged in the business of manufacturing the 
product in interstate or foreign commerce and who is 
licensed to engage in business as such a manufacturer 
under chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code. 
(3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any in-
dividual, corporation, company, association, firm, 
partnership, society, joint stock company, or any 
other entity, including any governmental entity. 
(4) QUALIFIED PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘qualified 
product’’ means a firearm (as defined in subpara-
graph (A) or (B) of section 921(a)(3) of title 18, 
United States Code), including any antique firearm 
(as defined in section 921(a)(16) of such title), or am-
munition (as defined in section 921(a)(17)(A) of such 
title), or a component part of a firearm or ammuni-
tion, that has been shipped or transported in inter-
state or foreign commerce. 
(5) QUALIFIED CIVIL LIABILITY ACTION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘qualified civil 
liability action’’ means a civil action or pro-
ceeding or an administrative proceeding brought 
by any person against a manufacturer or seller 
of a qualified product, or a trade association, for 
damages, punitive damages, injunctive or declar-
atory relief, abatement, restitution, fines, or pen-
alties, or other relief, resulting from the criminal 
or unlawful misuse of a qualified product by the 
person or a third party, but shall not include— 
(i) an action brought against a trans-
feror convicted of an offense under section 
924(h) of title 18, United States Code, or a 
comparable or identical State felony law, by 
a party directly harmed by the conduct of 
which the transferee is so convicted;
(ii) an action brought against a seller 
for negligent entrustment or negligence per 
se; 
(iii) an action in which a manufac-
turer or seller of a qualified product know-
ingly violated a State or Federal statute ap-
plicable to the sale or marketing of the 
product, if the violation was a proximate 
cause of the harm for which relief is sought, 
including— 
(I) any case in which the manu-
facturer or seller knowingly made any 
false entry in, or failed to make appro-
priate entry in, any record required to 
be kept under Federal or State law 
with respect to the qualified product, 
or aided, abetted, or conspired with 
any person in making any false or fic-
titious oral or written statement with 
respect to any fact material to the law-
fulness of the sale or other disposition 
of the qualified product; or 
(II) any case in which the manu-
facturer or seller aided, abetted, or con-
spired with any other person to sell or