Heed Bernie's Call To Repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act!

[TomCADem]

This Act was NRA/corporatist backed effort to protect gun manufacturers from liability lawsuits. The Democratic field should follow Bernie's leadership in calling for the repeal of this abomination of a corporate give away.

https://www.csgv.org/action/repeal-the-gun-industry-immunity-law/

Repeal The Gun Industry Immunity Law

In 2005, President Bush signed into law the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act,” which prohibits victims of the gun industry’s negligent practices from filing lawsuits in America’s courts. No other industry in the country benefits from such special legal protection.

Beginning in the 1990s, courts began to hold gun sellers and manufacturers responsible for their behavior. Courts found that gun dealers irresponsibly sold to criminals, and that negligent gun makers failed to take basic steps to prevent illegal firearms trafficking by “bad apple” distributors and dealers.

While the NRA has tried to silence legislators on issues of gun safety, the courts have always been there to stand up for victims of gun violence. Regrettably, the gun lobby was able to close the courthouse door on these victims with the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.”

Please sign this petition calling on Congress to repeal the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms” Act.

[George II]

1. ...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/sanders-gun-votes-are-again-potential-liability-among-democratic-base-n999326

[Princetonian]

2. I am glad Bernie clearly has had a change of heart.

Perhaps Tim Ryan has as well. I know Joe regrets his IWR vote.

[George II]

8. If you read the article you'll see that he's had "a change of heart" a few times.

[zackymilly]

34. So has Joe. n/t

[George II]

50. Not on this issue. He voted against the PLCAA, BS voted for it.

[sheshe2]

3. ...

[Hortensis]

4. If Sanders had rallied his Dexit types and the nonvoters who believed

his constant claims that there was no real difference between Democrats and Republicans to VOTE DEMOCRAT for the lives of all those who would die if they didn't, the comprehensive gun control legislation an overwhelming bipartisan majority wants would have been signed, sealed and delivered 3 years ago.

I blame their massive hypocrisy for these deaths even more than the killer. They knew he and many more like him were coming and sit safe and noisy as ever today.

[lapucelle]

5. Repealing the PLCAA was part of the 2016 Democratic Platform

Preventing Gun Violence

With 33,000 Americans dying every year, Democrats believe that we must finally take sensible action to address gun violence. While responsible gun ownership is part of the fabric of many communities, too many families in America have suffered from gun violence. We can respect the rights of responsible gun owners while keeping our communities safe.

To build on the success of the lifesaving Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, we will expand and strengthen background checks and close dangerous loopholes in our current laws; repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to revoke the dangerous legal immunity protections gun makers and sellers now enjoy; and keep weapons of war—such as assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines (LCAM’s)—off our streets.

We will fight back against attempts to make it harder for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to revoke federal licenses from law breaking gun dealers, and ensure guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists, intimate partner abusers, other violent criminals, and those with severe mental health issues.

There is insufficient research on effective gun prevention policies, which is why the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must have the resources it needs to study gun violence as a public health issue

https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/2016_DNC_Platform.pdf

[George II]

12. Here's the House roll call vote for that bill, only 59 Democrats and one Independent voted for it:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll534.xml

And here is the Senate roll call vote, only 14 Democrats voted for it:

https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?&congress=109&session=1&vote=00219

[lapucelle]

20. Senators Boxer, Dodd, Kennedy, Kerry, Feingold, Schumer, Reid,

Clinton, Biden, Obama...

The "no vote" list reads like an honor roll.

Interesting that Leahy voted against it too. I thought VT was a pro-gun state.

[mcar]

39. Research! Yay!

[Lordquinton]

6. It's sad that rather than support people attack him for this

but it is the primary forum, so it's to be expected.

[Skidmore]

7. The party

was there long before he was.

[JI7]

9. +

[sheshe2]

15. +++

[mcar]

40. +1000

[George II]

10. It's sad that it took this for him to "change". He still owes the parents in Sandy Hook an apology:

https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/dem-primaries/276402-sanders-i-dont-owe-sandy-hook-victims-families-an-apology

He also famously (or infamously?) said this:

Sanders: 'Guns in Vermont Are Not the Same Thing As Guns in Chicago or Guns in Los Angeles'

Are guns in Vermont not the same as guns in Texas or Ohio?

As Cory Booker said to Biden at the debate last week, BS "can't have it both ways". But as you say, "it is the primary forum" and "primary season".

[TomCADem]

13. Bernie is CO-SPONSOR Of a 2016 Bill Repealing Gun Maker Immunity

He has been very consistent is support of the bill that he co-sponsored.

[George II]

14. Don't forget, he also voted for that bill which gives gun makers immunity.

[lapucelle]

16. Rep Schiff (D-CA) & Sen Blumenthal (D-CT) Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act

Rep. Adam Schiff has 26 co-sponsors in the House.

https://bit.ly/2LZFVu8

Sen. Richard Blumenthal has 14 in the Senate

https://bit.ly/2Ymd49S

[lapucelle]

27. Concerning that 2016 co-sponsorship...

The Trace ("an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit newsroom dedicated to shining a light on America’s gun violence crisis" ) noted

Bernie Sanders’s Evolving Position on Gun Industry Immunity Still Has Some Fact-Checking Issues. In 2003, he voted for a version of gun industry immunity that was even friendlier to the firearm lobby.

Senator Bernie Sanders agreed to cosponsor a bill repealing a 2005 law that shields gun businesses from civil liability, but the presidential candidate continues to offer dubious explanations for his past support for the measure.

snip==================================================================

Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, described Sanders’s move as “proof of what can happen when the public holds politicians accountable — which is happening on the gun violence prevention issue like never before.”

Sanders’s efforts to explain his past gun votes has led a candidate running as a bold truth teller into uncharacteristic evasions. He has struggled to articulate why he voted for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), enacted in 2005, which prevents lawsuits against gun manufacturers and sellers for crimes committed with firearms that they sold.

snip===================================================================

Explaining his decision to support a repeal of the 2005 law, Sanders added, “I am willing now to look at that legislation, maintain what was good in it, get rid of what is bad in it.”

snip==================================================================

Timothy Lytton, a professor of law at Georgia State University who edited “Suing the Gun Industry,” a book about using lawsuits to reduce gun violence, dismissed Sanders’s explanation. The 2005 law, which followed similar laws enacted by states, “granted immunity to firearms manufacturers and retail sellers for lawsuits arising out of criminal misuse of the weapons,” Lytton told The Trace. “That is what the legislation was about. Anyone who says anything else is mischaracterizing it.”

https://www.thetrace.org/2016/01/bernie-sanders-voting-record-guns/

It's great that after a decades long career in politics, BS is finally on the right side of this issue.

But you can't blame the activist community for shaking their heads, especially if BS's supporters try to appropriate the hard work the community has been doing for years and try to claim that BS is some kind of trail blazing leader on this issue.

It might be helpful to start by avoiding headlines like

Heed Bernie's Call To Repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act!

It is not his call. It is their call.

[TomCADem]

28. Bernie Just Needs to Say This Regarding the 2016 Repeal Bill: "I Wrote The Damn Bill!"

[lapucelle]

37. That would be a lie. BS didn't write the bill. Its sponsor - Sen Blumenthal - wrote the bill.

You do know the difference between a sponsor and a co-sponsor, don't you?

A sponsor is also sometimes called a "primary sponsor." In the Senate, multiple sponsorship of a bill is permitted.

In contrast to a sponsor, a "cosponsor" is a senator or representative who adds his or her name as a supporter to the sponsor's bill.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2469/text

[George II]

43. Not even an original co-sponsor.

[George II]

41. Why does he need to say that? It certainly isn't true.....

....BTW, that "I wrote the damn bill" comment was set up in advance. Just hours later he was selling stickers online and via email.

https://www.axios.com/bernie-sanders-i-wrote-the-damn-bill-debate-sticker-e00ed7fa-cc00-42c5-92ab-6e1be1cd3a3d.html

[thesquanderer]

52. No evidence that it was set up in advance.

Not that it would be terrible if it was, there's nothing wrong with preparing a line of attack, and nothing wrong with being ready to capitalize on it if it worked.

But it doesn't seem like the case this time. Based on how the opportunity arose (the other candidate saying "You don't know that" to which he came back with "I *do* know it, I wrote the damn bill!" ), he couldn't know there would be such an opportunity. Second, having seen Sanders on SNL, IMO, he is not that good of an actor to have nailed that delivery and timing. That was a genuine in-the-moment response.

And in these days of this thing called "internet" it is perfectly believable that his campaign/web guys saw the opportunity to market it, and had it up on the web site about an hour and a half later. Kids today!

[George II]

53. He sent out a mass email shortly after the debate, selling "I wrote the damn bill"....

Subject line: You haven't claimed your "I wrote the damn bill" sticker yet

Donate any amount of money and we’ll send you this new "I Wrote the Damn Bill" sticker. So far the average contribution for this sticker is $9.57, but chip in what you think is fair.

[thesquanderer]

54. So? How is that a response to anything I wrote?

And as an aside, I imagine it was "his campaign" that sent out the email, and not "him."

[betsuni]

31. I'm glad Bernie was pulled to the Left on this issue.

[thesquanderer]

21. You can't post anything positive about Bernie here without someone slamming him. nt

[George II]

23. Did you see Cory Booker's comment to Biden last week about "you can't have it both ways"?

[thesquanderer]

26. Yes. So what?

The two situations have nothing to do with each other.

As for Bernie's statements and votes on gun control, they were discussed here ad infinitum in 2016. Some people look at the contexts and explanations and think they're reasonable, others think Bernie is Satan and nothing will change their mind. IMO, it's not worth discussing yet again, it's been beaten to death, and nobody is changing their mind.

[George II]

29. We're in the midst of a campaign for the Democratic nomination for President....

All issues are worth discussing.

[thesquanderer]

36. I don't think anyone seriously thinks that a President Sanders would kowtow to the NRA.

It's a phony issue.

But if you really want to see the explanations for why Sanders isn't bad on gun control, there are plenty of old threads about it. But you were here then, so you've probably seen them. And if you weren't persuaded them, I assume you won't be persuaded now.

[lapucelle]

33. BS is the only person running who voted for the PLCAA. Repealing in was part of our 2016 platform

Democrats in Congress have been introducing legislation for years to get rid of this law.

Yet we have an OP rewriting history by saying

The Democratic field should follow Bernie's leadership in calling for the repeal of this abomination of a corporate give away.

BS is the only person running who voted in favor of

An NRA/corporatist backed effort to protect gun manufacturers from liability lawsuits

BS voted YES to what his fans now call an NRA/corporatist backed effort to protect gun manufacturers from liability lawsuits.

His campaign and supporters should be very, very careful about claiming leadership on this. It's opportunistic revisionism, at best.

You indeed cannot have it both ways.

[thesquanderer]

38. Changing a position is not the same as having it both ways.

"Having it both ways" would to saying two things today that are at odds with each other. Saying something today that is different from what you said 5 or 10 or 15 or 20 years ago is not having it both ways... rather it is (depending on whether you like the candidate or not) "evolving" or "flip flopping."Or perhaps re-evaluating in light of changing circumstances, or after seeing the consequences of the earlier position. As a whole, Sanders has probably been more consistent over his long career than just about anyone (he certainly has less problematic old positions than Biden does!), but the fact is, nobody gets every vote and every position perfect. Sometimes you need to change a position. Sanders does it less than most.

I doubt anyone here honestly believes that, if Sanders were elected in 2020, he would be bad on gun control. Therefore, I think it's an entirely phony issue, just to knock Bernie.

and p.s. -- the entirety of Sanders' gun control position over the years (both positive and negative) is not summed up by the PLCAA vote. On the whole he's never been bad. See https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/20/bernie-sanders/bernie-sanders-nra-report-card-d-minus-most-recent/ to see the history of NRA ratings for Sanders. Only once did he even get as high as C-. All other years were Ds and Fs, going back to the 90s.

[lapucelle]

42. The OP is claiming that BS is leading on this issue as if Democrats and/or the field

have somehow been lagging behind. The Democratic Party has been fighting to repeal PLCAA ever since they fought its passage.

Somebody down thread is actually claiming that BS wrote Blumenthal's repeal bill.

This level of disinformation is dangerous.

[thesquanderer]

44. I agree that the OP and others seem to be stretching Sanders' role in this.

I'll give you that. I just think that beating Sanders up over gun control is disingenuous in the other direction.

[lapucelle]

48. No one would be saying anything if it were not for the outrageous claims concerning BS

and the attempted marginalization of the true leaders on this issue.

[George II]

46. Joe Biden voted AGAINST the PLCAA.

[lapucelle]

47. BS will have to explain his record at the next debate.

And the level of misinformation here is troubling. Someone on the thread is claiming that BS wrote Blumenthal's repeal bill and that he should say so.

[George II]

49. Not only didn't he write Blumenthal's bill, it took him about two weeks to decide to co-sponsor it.

[thesquanderer]

45. Also please see my Post #38

Post 38

[stonecutter357]

30. Bernie has nice hair !

test ...

[thesquanderer]

32. LOL (nt)

[George II]

11. Guess who voted FOR that bill?

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll534.xml

[crazytown]

17. That was Representative Bernaud

not bernie

[betsuni]

19. I like your weathervane.

[betsuni]

18. I wonder why he voted for an NRA/corporatist "abomination of a corporate give away."

[lapucelle]

22. Didn't he say his constituents wanted him to vote for the biill?

I wonder why Sen Leahy voted against it.

[George II]

24. Maybe because Leahy doesn't think guns in Vermont are different from guns in Chicago or LA.

[betsuni]

25. Then I wonder why it's fine when he votes for "corporate give aways" because of constituents,

but claims that Democrats are corrupt, "bribed" by corporations and lobbyists and wealthy donors instead of doing exactly what he did: vote as their constituents want them to.

That's odd.

[katmondoo]

35. What has Bernie done in 30 years that makes anyone think he will do anything.

[comradebillyboy]

51. I really can't think of anything in particular.

[SouthernProgressive]

55. One more issue where Sanders has caught up to the Democratic Party. NT