Several state leaders, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), are considering a bill to permit crime victims’ families to sue gun manufacturers, distributors, and retailers for actions they had no part in. This bears repeating. Instead of cracking down on violent criminals, Michigan legislators believe it is a solid plan to target the firearms industry.
Completely ignored in the process are those who actually commit violent crimes and terrorize the population.
This is grandstanding at its finest. It is merely looking to fire up the base of political support for certain leaders and avoid addressing the real and immediate danger.
Instead of prosecuting murderers and others who target law-abiding citizens, courtrooms would be filled with frivolous lawsuits attacking the wrong targets.
Consider for a moment the hurdles already in place for those wishing to exercise their Second Amendment rights to purchase a firearm. And while no one, least of all the weapons industry, wants to see guns in the wrong hands, these are safety measures already in action.
The prospective gun buyer must fill out an ATF Form 4473 confirming that they are indeed the actual recipient of the weapon. It affirms they are not a convicted felon or fugitive from the law, have not been convicted of domestic violence and are not the target of an arrest warrant.
When this is accomplished, the retailer implements the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to confirm that the potential purchaser is indeed eligible to acquire a firearm.
Then and only then is the transaction allowed to proceed.
So, how do criminals get their hands on weapons?
It is a simple fact, and Michigan lawmakers know this well, that few lawbreakers acquire firearms this way. The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics’ own research revealed that a staggering 90% of convicted felons got possession of their weapons through illegal means.
They did not and do not go through the process of purchasing a weapon through a licensed retailer. Instead, they go to the black market or simply steal them. No paperwork and no background checks.
That, however, is an inconvenient truth that the Michigan governor and other anti-gun zealots will ignore.
In April, the state passed a sweeping package of gun control measures in a knee jerk response to the Michigan State shooting. According to the National Rifle Association, the new laws further criminalize private transfers of weapons through expansion of the state’s handgun permit-to-purchase system. It will now include all firearms.
A mandatory storage system is set up for individual firearm owners. Those not in compliance face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $7,500. Another part of the package established so-called “red flag” laws based on weak accusations and little evidence.
The state already utilized a tragedy to push through new regulations, and now they want more. But does the potential wave of litigation against gun manufacturers and retailers stand a chance of somehow finding them liable?
That is highly unlikely, but that is not the goal of proponents in allowing a flood of lawsuits. Instead, it is what former Clinton administration Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo called “death by a thousand paper cuts.”
The intent is not to hold the firearms industry liable for crimes they certainly did not commit or facilitate. Michigan legislators know that reasonable juries will see through their ploy.
Instead, the goal is to burden the industry with so many frivolous suits that it will be crippled. Through a process aptly called “regulation through litigation,” manufacturers, distributors, and retailers would end up spending enormous amounts of resources and time defending themselves against these nuisance lawsuits.
And that is what the state of Michigan is considering in their next attack on Second Amendment rights.
