On Tuesday, a law was signed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that permits guns to be designated a public nuisance and opens the floodgates for lawsuits against gun manufacturers. The law was enacted by the Democrat-controlled state Legislature.
In a news release, Gov. Cuomo stated that “The only industries in the United States of America that are immune from lawsuits are the gun manufacturers, but we will not stand for that any longer”
The federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005 gave gun manufacturers immunity if their products were misused in a criminal manner, according to NBC News.
New York is changing all of that, Cuomo claimed in a news release.
The gun industry is the only industry in America with immunity from civil lawsuits.
It’s an insult to victims of gun violence.
Today I’m signing legislation to reinstate public nuisance liability for gun manufacturers in NYS.
I thank sponsors @SenatorMyrie & @PatriciaFahy109.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) July 6, 2021
The release stated, “Under this new legislation, gun manufacturers cannot endanger the safety and health of the public through the sale, manufacturing, importing or marketing of the products they sell. The products can be considered a public nuisance even if the gun manufacturer did not purposely cause harm to the public.”
Anyone, from members of the public to corporations to the state attorneys general, can now fire at “bad actor gun manufacturers,” the release explained.
Government protection of the firearms industry “has created a perfect storm of lax controls and an inability to hold bad actors accountable,” in Cuomo’s statement.
A State Attorney General and Democrat who has taken a hard stand against the National Rifle Association, Letitia James, stated that she supports the abridging of the federal law.
She said, “Plain and simple, this was federal overreach to protect the gun industry in every way possible, but, today, New York state took an important step to right that wrong and protect its citizens from gun violence.”
Cuomo announced the same day he signed the bill that in New York, he would declare a public health emergency over gun violence.
According to Fox News, state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt labeled Cuomo’s announcement “political grandstanding.”
Ortt said, “Days after finally relinquishing his emergency powers, the governor has declared another emergency.”
“The crisis in cities across our state today directly correlates with the passage of the disastrous bail and other criminal justice ‘reforms,’ an out-of-control parole board that has released countless murderers and other dangerous criminals, and calls by Democrats to defund our police.”
The NRA fired back at Cuomo, in a post on its website.
The post stated, “How can there be a gun violence state of emergency in New York when the state has, arguably, the harshest gun laws in the country?”
“Gov. Cuomo has been in office for over a decade, and he has had every opportunity to get it right. He has failed miserably, and today was nothing more than a doubling-down on more of the same failed politics.”
Sources: TheGateWayPundit, Governor.ny.gov, NBCbnews, FoxNews, Nraila.org, Westernjournal