PLCAA

The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act is a federal law that provides the gun industry with unique legal immunity not enjoyed by any other product industry in the United States. Under PLCAA, gun manufacturers and dealers cannot generally be held liable in civil court for crimes committed with their products.

The law was passed in response to a wave of municipal lawsuits in the late 1990s and early 2000s that sought to hold gun makers liable for the public health costs of gun violence — similar to the tobacco litigation strategy. Cities including Chicago, New Orleans, and Atlanta had sued manufacturers for negligent marketing and distribution.

PLCAA does contain exceptions: manufacturers can still be sued if their products malfunction, or if they violated state or federal statutes "applicable to the sale or marketing of the product." This latter exception — the "predicate exception" — is what Sandy Hook families used to eventually reach a $73M settlement with Remington.

• Protected gun industry from hundreds of civil liability cases since 2005; Giffords documents 6+ major appellate-level dismissals
• Ended wave of city lawsuits against gun manufacturers
• Survived multiple constitutional challenges
• Sandy Hook/Remington settlement — first successful use of predicate exception