Recently passed NY Senate bill stirs debate over liability of gun manufactures By Luke Perry
The New York State Senate recently passed S1048A focused on “the dangers to the safety and health of the public caused by the sale, manufacturing, importing and marketing of firearms.” The bill’s sponsors contend the gun industry should no longer be immune from civil lawsuits “stemming from the dangers posed by its products.”
The bill states that “those responsible for the illegal or unreasonable sale, manufacture, distribution, importing or marketing of firearms may be held liable for the public nuisance caused by such activities.”
Sen. Zellnor Myrie (phot from NY State Senate)
Senator Zellnor Myrie (NY Senate District 20) contended that “communities of color are besieged by an influx of guns from other states, sold and manufactured by companies with little interest in how their products are used or misused.”
For Myrie, the “ability to sue reckless corporations for damages doesn’t destroy those companies- it creates an incentive for better, safer practices in the marketplace,” akin to other state laws protecting citizens from harmful chemicals, addictive pharmaceuticals and other products.
“There is simply no excuse for protecting the worst actors in the gun industry while leaving our communities exposed, vulnerable and without recourse. ”
Senator Peter Oberacker (NY Senate District 51) represents local gun manufacturer Remington Arms. Senator Oberacker told Talk of the Town (WUTQ in Utica) that it was “surreal experience” to “talk about something that to me is so obvious.” Oberacker was critical of a “top down approach” to “legislate social morality and social ills away.”
“How can a manufacturer that manufactures any product downstream control how it’s done, what it’s used for, and be liable for its misuse?”
For Oberacker, It “comes down to manufacturing and comes down to our Second American rights.” Oberacker described the legislation as an “all out assault on guns” and believes gun manufacturers are unable to their modify behavior to comply with this bill.
Sen. Peter Oberacker (photo from NY State Senate)
Remington Arms opposed the bill, claiming “the firearm industry will abandon the New York market to avoid a tidal wave of vexatious regulation through legislation.”
The State Assembly is expected to entertain the legislation in the near future.
Luke Perry is Professor of Political Science at Utica College
