By: José Niño

Gun controllers can get creative with their strategies to hack away at the Second Amendment.

One path they’ve recently pursued is to use lawsuits against gun companies. Often, gun control activists sue these companies for criminals using their guns in criminal acts.

The name of the game is to overwhelm gun companies financially with a series of lawsuits simply for the actions of third parties engaging in criminal behavior. As a result, many firearms businesses would be forced to shut their doors after legal fees accumulate, thus reducing the overall supply of firearms. This is one result that gun control proponents would look forward to even when they’re denied legislative victories.

Due to the surge of anti-gun lawsuits levied against firearms businesses in the last few decades, lawmakers in Congress were compelled to pass the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) back in 2005. The purpose of this legislation was to impede lawsuits aimed at destroying firearms businesses.

As Tom Knighton of Bearing Armsobserved, however, “[T]he PLCAA is under attack by the Biden administration.”

As a result, states have had to work proactively to protect gun manufacturers. Arizona led the way last week when Governor Doug Ducey signed Senate Bill 1382 into law to protect the Second Amendment rights of lawful gun owners and manufacturers from the non-stop barrage of lawsuits that Gun Control Inc. uses to assault gun rights.

This legislation emulates the federal PLCAA.

“With efforts currently underway in Washington to erode Second Amendment rights, Arizona is taking action to protect those rights,” said Governor Ducey. “In Arizona, we’re safeguarding manufacturers, sellers and trade associations. Bad actors need to be held accountable, and we will work to make sure they are. But we’re not going to allow lawsuit after lawsuit to slowly tear down the Constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens in our state. Senate Bill 1382 achieves this goal, and I’m grateful to Representative Quang Nguyen and Senator Wendy Rogers for leading on this important legislation.”

According to a report by Prescott eNews, SB 1382 does the following:

Senate Bill 1382 prohibits the state and all entities of the state from suing a member of the firearms industry for lawful design, marketing, distribution, and sale of firearms and ammunition to the public. The legislation also prohibits a civil action from being brought against a manufacturer or seller of a firearm or ammunition or related trade association for damages resulting from the criminal misuse of the firearm or ammunition, with exceptions.

This is a solid piece of legislation that Arizona has just passed. The state is clearly living up to its pro-gun reputation, where it is still ranked in 1st place according to Guns & Ammo magazine’s Best States for Gun Owners rankings.

Arizona is in an enviable spot as far as gun rights are concerned, but its legislators are continuing to push the envelope. The fight to preserve gun rights is far from over, and the right mindset for gun owners nationwide to have is one of constant action. It is essential that we continue pushing for legislation that liberates law-abiding Americans from DC’s civilian disarmament efforts.

José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.