Leave it to Michigan’s Democratic lawmakers to trot out the tired old trope of “consumer protection” as an excuse to wage war on the firearm industry. Their latest legislative push, now advancing through the state House Judiciary Committee, proposes removing liability protections for gun manufacturers. The aim? To bypass federal protections under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) and bankrupt gun companies through an avalanche of lawsuits.
Let’s get one thing straight: the PLCAA doesn’t give gun manufacturers blanket immunity. What it does is protect them from frivolous lawsuits designed to punish them for the criminal misuse of their products by third parties. It doesn’t protect them if their products are defective or if they engage in false advertising. Yet Michigan Democrats are claiming their proposed legislation is about consumer protection and holding gunmakers accountable for so-called “irresponsible practices.”
PLCAA: A Necessary Shield Against Frivolous Lawsuits
The PLCAA is a federal law that ensures gun manufacturers and sellers aren’t held responsible for crimes committed by individuals using their products. It’s no different than shielding carmakers from being sued every time someone gets drunk and crashes a car, killing someone, or preventing alcohol manufacturers from being sued because someone drank too much and caused a fatal wreck.
Let’s be honest: If you try to sue Ford or Toyota because a drunk driver used their vehicle to kill someone, you’ll get laughed out of court unless you can prove a specific defect in the vehicle caused the crash. And you will likely be sued to repay the costs of their defense in the case. The same principle applies to firearms. You can sue a gun company if a gun is defective, just like you can sue an automaker if faulty brakes cause an accident. But you don’t get to sue simply because someone misuses the product. But anti-gun Democrats aren’t just misleading the public about this, they are blatantly lying. They say laws like the PLCAA protects gun makers from “any” lawsuit. But that simply is not true. State Rep. Ranjeev Puri parrots the lies spewed by groups like Everytown for Gun Safety, which isn’t about safety, but about supporting anti-gun legislation.
LIE 1: “The proposed bills would remove protections that have for years given the gun industry immunity that no other industry is afforded, said state Rep. Ranjeev Puri, a Canton Township Democrat who helped introduce the bills,” the Detroit Free Press reports.
LIE 2: “This bill would allow victims of gun violence and impacted communities to hold the gun industry accountable for irresponsible practices that have for years created dangerous conditions in the state of Michigan,” Puri told the Free Press.
A Transparent Attempt to Bankrupt Gunmakers
Michigan’s bill doesn’t protect consumers; it creates a legal minefield designed to crush gunmakers under the weight of endless litigation and an opportunity for failing Democratically run cities to try to cash in on their persecution to fill their coffers to fund more ineffective city programs. State Rep. Kelly Breen, a Democrat backing the legislation, claims this isn’t about the Second Amendment. Really? What else would you call a proposal that allows anyone to sue gun manufacturers for legally selling a perfectly functioning product?
State Rep. Andrew Fink, a Republican, nailed it when he described this as a “shadow ban” on firearms. The legislation doesn’t seek accountability—it seeks annihilation.
Under Michigan’s proposal, gun manufacturers could be sued for “creating a public nuisance” through the lawful marketing or sale of their products. Imagine if that same logic were applied to other industries: Could knife makers be sued because someone used a kitchen knife in a stabbing? Could a brewery be held liable for a drunk driver’s actions? Should makers of violent movies and video games be held liable for crimes committed by those who may be inspiried by their creations? We know advertising–the creation of words, sounds, images or video to promote a brand, product or service in order to illicit a response from consumers–works. If it didn’t, companies wouldn’t spend a projected $389.49 billion on advertising in 2024. So, why do we think some unstable people are not influenced by the violent images and depictions they see and experience in movies and video games?
The Double Standard
If this legislation were truly about consumer safety, Democrats would be targeting other industries as well. Yet, we don’t see calls to hold alcohol companies liable for drunk driving deaths. That’s because dram shop laws—which hold establishments, not manufacturers, responsible for over-serving alcohol—already address those issues. Similarly, car manufacturers aren’t dragged into court when someone decides to ignore the law and speed through a school zone.
Why should gunmakers be treated differently? Because Democrats want to bankrupt them, plain and simple.
Guns Are Inherently Dangerous— Ummm, That’s the Point Stupid
Firearms are designed to fire projectiles. When projectiles made of lead or other metals strike tissue and bone at say anywhere between 800 fps and 4,000 fps, it can do some major freaking damage. Serious injury and even death can result. When someone uses a gun to commit a crime, and the gun works as intended, that’s not a defect—it’s a crime. Michigan’s proposal pretends to ignore this basic truth while relying on the kind of virtue-signaling that’s become the hallmark of anti-gun lawmakers.
If the goal were really about “accountability,” we’d see the same level of scrutiny applied to video game developers or Hollywood producers who create violent media. After all, violent video games and movies (as already noted above) could arguably inspire someone to commit violence. But under the First Amendment, media creators are protected. The same principle should apply to the firearms industry under both the First and the Second Amendments.
Federal Law Will Prevail
Let’s not kid ourselves: even if Michigan Democrats succeed in passing this legislation, the PLCAA will supersede it. Federal law is clear, and it’s not going anywhere. So why push for laws that will inevitably fail? Simple: it’s political theater designed to curry favor with their liberal base while wasting everyone’s time and resources. That or they are genuinely intellectually stunted to the point that they fail to see the legal illogic in their proposals. They need to educate themselves if this is the case.
Michigan’s bill isn’t about consumer protection or safety; it’s about disarming the public and dismantling the firearms industry. The PLCAA was enacted to prevent precisely this kind of bad-faith legislation, and it will continue to protect gunmakers from being scapegoated for the actions of criminals.
This isn’t about safety or accountability—it’s about control. And gun owners everywhere should be paying attention. In fact, Americans everywhere should be paying attention. Because if they can pass this, it sets the blueprint for legislators to come after any product you hold dear and that can be misused in a way that someone else doesn’t like. Is this really the America we want to live in?
“Guns are inherently dangerous…” That’s funny! Reminds of all the times that someone would get my attention with some variety of, “Officer, Officer, your gun is cocked!” (1911) Me, “Yes, I know. I cocked it.” Them, “Isn’t that dangerous?” Me, “It’s a handgun. It’s supposed to be dangerous.” I then would smile and walk away. Once I had entered the jail through the lobby. I needed to see some paperwork at booking reference to a case I was working. I turned in my weapons to central control and was buzzed through. I had barely hit the booking desk when the C.O. opened the door to central and began to bitch me out for handing him a cocked handgun. Understand, this guy was brand new. I mean maybe two weeks new. I was the lead firearms instructor for the Sheriff’s Office. Every other deputy and C.O. there heard him. They had all been on my range in the past. Everyone stopped what they were doing with that “I can’t wait to see what happens next.” look on their face. I was not as polite with that young C.O. as I was the general public. Kinda felt bad about it later. He looked like a beaten dog when he went back in central. Later, I would spend a little extra time with him at qualification. He was a mediocre shot, but improved to above average before he left for the state. I hope he is well.
Try that silly sht with me and I would strip your firearm down, return it to you in parts and tell you next time you hand me a firearm you best verify safe.
Debbie, sure you would.
Yes I Would…Take that to the bank.
And you don’t know what you are telling about. A 1911 cocked and locked is as safe as any other loaded firearm. More so, in my opinion. The grip safety makes it impossible to fire until the handle is gripped, and the thumb safety is an extra protection and must be deliberately snapped into the down position to remove. All that’s needed is to drop the mag and rack the side to eject the one in the chamber and you are good to go with it.
You would never make it through selection let alone academy.
Okay, you told a good story. But I did not get it. Why was it perfectly okay to check in a firearm that was loaded, let alone cocked? It seems like an unnecessarily complicating factor, especially in a busy place where the officer or staff could receive any number of different firearms in any number of different states of readiness throughout a typical workday?
I’m open to a logical and sensible answer, so please don’t give me an off-the-cuff reply. If it helps, please make believe I’m a new gun owner, or a visitor who came here and read your story without any background or context.
Thanks in advance!
What kind of moron hands a loaded firearm to another? or accepts such? Popo. Any intelligent person knows you unload and clear before handing it off. and then you clear it as accepting it YYES it gets cleared TWICE).
95% of US police need to be on the UK model/SOP, “armed” only with a baton.
.gov tyranny at its best. You don’t like an industry, sue it out of business. Hopefully our newly elected potus will use their strategy against them.
“gov tyranny at its best. You don’t like an industry, sue it out of business”
Even better, let some foreign govt sue it out of business. Coming soon to a gas station near you.
If the Remington case is any indication, trial courts in liberal jurisdictions will deny early motions to dismiss, thus allowing the plaintiff’s attorneys to engage in massive discovery as to that manufacturer’s advertising efforts going back years. This “scorched earth” discovery that ends up costing millions in attorney time to review and produce hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, most of which will never be admissible at trial. The pressure to settle will be immense. (In Remington’s case, Remington had already gone bankrupt, so the only responsible entity was an insurer for a defunct company, such that a settlement, which has no precedential value, was clearly in its best interest.)
I am waiting for a gun company to counter sue for libel and attempting to deprive people of their civil rights under color of law. Most pols aren’t smart enough to keep things out of writing that they should. Betting the emails between some of these offices and NGOs that advocate for gun control would back it up.
And interference in torts. They’re basically trying to disrupt an entirely legal transaction. Contract law looks very poorly on that, even when it’s the government.
Obviously democRats act as if they own the moral high ground and the 2A is a can they can kick around whenever they wish…And they can, no pun intended.
Decades ago had Gun talking blowbags began to Define Gun Control by its Roots in Racism and Genocide by now democRats and their Gun Control rot would be cut down to size. Same holds true for those who fold like cheap tents when sneaky tounge in cheek democRats call for Reparations. Instead of holding the Party that owns the Legacy of Slavery and other Race Based Atrocities liable for Reparations you hear omnidirectional lame excuses from blowbags that do nothing but whitewash the History of the democRat Party. And all while tantrum throwing democRats were cleansing themselves by tearing down Civil War statues, renaming this and that, etc. there was no push back or a demand made to tear down or even rename the guilty as sin democRat Party.
Obviously Gun Control has a leg up on the 2A and that primarily falls back on jokers who think such labels as chicongo, chirag, usual suspects and other such gibberish are viable ways to Defeat Gun Control.
Half relevant, needs to ditch the concern on racism much as any thinking person does to avoid being controlled by those who seek control. Much improved for your typical posts
I agree, her post is better this time.
But I also disagree. Gun control IS INDEED rooted in racism and genocide. It is, it really is!
So I will never tell anybody to “be quiet on the race thing”. If anything, we should be taking that conversation to our elected officials, and we should be “taking names” of those who don’t affirm and attest to this very important point. Debby is right about this and she should not have to fight our discouraging attitude. If anything, we should be encouraging her. We probably should be writing her words to our own politicians, and especially to our judges too.
Eventually, SOMEBODY is going to say her words in an interview. And THEN it becomes part of the national conversation. And isn’t that what we want? It’s what I want.
As for her calling out of the cutsey names for things, such as “Chiraq” or “Detroitistan”, I think she also has a point here too. Her concern is that we water down the message by creating new words for bad things. I get that, and I acknowledge her concern.
But at the same time, we need to remember that politics (and policy) is DOWNSTREAM from culture. It always has been. It always will be.
That means that culture changes and transforms BEFORE politics, politicians, and policy will.
And culture is the thing that causes renamings to be successful. For example, “woke”. 10 years ago, it wasn’t a thing. 5 years ago, maybe 5% of the population knew what it meant. Today, most people know what it means, and people on both political sides use the word; some correctly, others not.
Here’s another example: Biden Crime Family. It’s a way you can refer to pretty much everything they’ve done all at once without taking the time to list all the individual instances of graft, incompetent military withdrawals, DEI hiring in the WH staff, transportation, defense, and state departments, and without referring specifically to each instance of innocent lives lost from the invasion of migrants, or the unconstitutional imprisonment of so many people who were just walking through open doorways or standing on street corners blocks away from the “riot”.
You can encapsulate ALL of that by just referring to “Brandon” or “the Biden Crime Family” or to “President Mumblemouth”.
It saves words and makes it so you can speak and write in sound bytes, which is what we have to do these days in order to be heard anyhow.
And then somebody big refers to “The Biden Crime Family” on a Tucker or Watters show, and then it’s only a matter of time before a guest utters the same words on a CNN or MSNBC show, and the term is on its way to becoming part of our social lexicon.
Most of us here might be getting up there in age, but that’s no reason for us to completely “check out” of participation in society and culture. No reason at all. And we have a lot more battles ahead of us than we do behind us.
Doesn’t matter if it is, racism is a tool to control the weak willed. Any acknowledgement of it’s being relevant especially in recent times only gives power to those who seek to enslave others.
Effective immediately all manufacturers and suppliers should refuse any purchase orders from the state. Not one pistol, not one cartridge. To do otherwise would be the equivalent of selling the state the rope it will use to hang them.
I like Jim’s idea.
Squad room posting – NOTICE: Effective Monday and each day thereafter, Barney will be issued only one bullet for practice and one bullet for duty use. That is all.
God bless Don Knotts.
Whitmare.
why doesn’t someone sue these dimwit for not doing their jobs, by not arresting criminals, and taking them to court
Because the court system is also corrupted. Not all of it, but enough of it to matter.
You can sue anybody. But you still have to find a court who will take your case.
Do YOU research the people up for election or re-election in your own local District Attorney or Circuit Court Judge elections? I mean REALLY RESEARCH them?
If you only look at the door-hanger adverts you get, the only thing you’d ever know about any person trying to get elected in these races was that they are married with 2 kids, a dog, and a cat. I’ve never seen so many Harvard Law Review editors! Oh, and they’re all devout church goers, never mind the frequency of times they use their rulings to try to hurt religious people and institutions.
Driving a vehicle over 100mph is a felony.
Why do they make vehicles that will go 101mph?
You can drive as fast as you want to on private property that you own or have permission to use.
So is shooting someone. The purpose of a trial is to determine if you were justified in doing either of those things.
Shocking and Disgusting Revelations Emerge About the USCP Officer Who Killed Ashli Babbitt.
h ttps://redstate.com/bonchie/2024/12/13/new-shocking-disgusting-revelations-about-the-uscp-officer-who-shot-and-killed-ashli-babbitt-n2183179
Thank you for this. Hoping that other news orgs pick up on this story.
Any bets that the “immigrant” parents of State Rep. Ranjeev Puri complied with ALL immigration and naturalization requirements? As: NO government funds/resources used in their resettlement. Or were they some kind of “refugee” (that should have GONE BACK HOME). Very few, on who we have bestowed citizenship, on in the last 50yrs have actually been in compliance with the law. So, their Naturalization (and of their spawn) is ILLEGAL. And the fiction of “Birthright Citizenship”.
Revoke and deport. Go fix your cesspool country.
What this article doesn’t mention is that the Michigan Dems are trying to ram as much “progressive” obscenities through while they still have the trifecta. The Republicans won control of the House on 11/5 and will put a stop to all of this once they take over in January.
Exactly. those dishonest bastards. The people of Michigan spoke, and they clearly didn’t like what the Dems were selling. So they decide to do as much damage as they can on the way out the door. I hope this backfires on them big time
I actually support the police and this is a bad idea for them. I would suggest to the Michigan authorities that all gun manufacturers (especially USA manufacturers) not sell any firearms to any persons of authority in Michigan. Let them “buy” from somewhere else.
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