Ray LaHood on Gun Control Republican Representative (IL-18)

Voted YES on prohibiting product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers.

• Prohibit individuals from filing a qualified civil liability action
• Exempt lawsuits brought against individuals who knowingly transfer a firearm that will be used to commit a violent or drug-trafficking crime
• Exempt lawsuits against actions that result in death, physical injury or property damage due solely to a product defect
• Dismiss of all civil liability actions pending on the date of enactment
• Prohibit the manufacture, import, sale or delivery of armor piercing ammunition

Voted YES on prohibiting suing gunmakers & sellers for gun misuse.

Voted YES on decreasing gun waiting period from 3 days to 1.

No lawsuits against gun manufacturers.

OnTheIssues.org explanation: This bill is a response to the success of tobacco lawsuits, which resulted in cigarette manufacturers paying billions to compensate for the long-term negative health effects of tobacco use. Gun manufacturers grew concerned that the same sort of lawsuit would be applied to guns.

OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY:

• To prohibit civil liability actions against manufacturers or distributors of firearms or ammunition for damages resulting from the misuse of their products by others.
• Requires dismissal of any such action that is pending on the date of this Act's enactment
• Specifies exceptions with respect to actions against persons who transfer a firearm knowing that it will be used to commit a crime of violence.

EXCERPTS FROM CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS:

The Congress finds the following:
1. Citizens have a right, under the Second Amendment, to keep and bear arms.
2. Lawsuits have been commenced against manufacturers & dealers of nondefective firearms, which seek money damages for the harm caused by the misuse of firearms by third parties, including criminals.
3. The sale and use of firearms and ammunition is heavily regulated.
4. Businesses that are engaged in commerce of firearms or ammunition are not, and should not be, liable for the harm caused by those who unlawfully misuse firearm products.
5. The possibility of imposing liability on an entire industry for harm that is the sole responsibility of others is an abuse of the legal system.
6. The liability actions commenced are based on theories without foundation in hundreds of years of the common law and American jurisprudence.
7. An expansion of liability would constitute a deprivation of the rights guaranteed to citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.

Rated A by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun rights voting record.

While widely recognized today as a major political force and as America's foremost defender of Second Amendment rights, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has, since its inception, been the premier firearms education organization in the world. But our successes would not be possible without the tireless efforts and countless hours of service our nearly three million members have given to champion Second Amendment rights and support NRA programs.

The following ratings are based on lifetime voting records on gun issues and the results of a questionaire sent to all Congressional candidates; the NRA assigned a letter grade (with A+ being the highest and F being the lowest).

Individual right to self-defense at home and as self-defense.

Declares that a person not prohibited under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act from receiving a firearm shall have the right to obtain firearms for security and to use firearms in defense of:

1. self or family against a reasonably perceived threat of imminent and unlawful infliction of serious bodily injury;
2. self or family in the course of the commission by another person of a violent felony against the person or a member of the person's family; and
3. the person's home in the course of the commission of a felony by another person.