Victims of gun violence will be allowed to bring civil actions against gun manufacturers, distributors, or retailers who fail to implement reasonable safeguards to ensure their products do not fall into the wrong hands, under legislation passed early Friday by the state Senate.
The Senate voted 25-11 to pass House Bill 7042, which was approved by the House last month and now heads to Gov. Ned Lamont for his signature.
The bill allows for legal action against firearm manufacturers, retailers, and distributors who fail to adopt reasonable controls to prevent the sale of firearms to ineligible purchasers, straw buyers, traffickers, or individuals the seller has reasonable cause to believe will use the weapon to commit a crime or harm others.
Leaders of the Senate’s Democratic majority said the bill would hold the gun industry accountable by giving victims the opportunity to recover damages from irresponsible sellers and manufacturers.
“Despite the deadly nature of their products, gun manufacturers and sellers have enjoyed broad immunity to civil action, which has allowed them to turn a blind eye to dangerous sales practices that all too often end in tragedy,” Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, D–New Haven said.
The bill advanced out of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee before passing through the House. Sen. Gary Winfield, a New Haven Democrat who co-chairs the judiciary panel, said debates over gun violence typically focus entirely on individuals rather than systems that allow weapons to fall into the wrong hands.
“This legislation recognizes that the industry operates in a certain way and that way has consequences. We’re creating a framework where those consequences are no longer ignored,” Winfield said.
The legislation leverages an exception in the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), a 2005 law that generally shields the gun industry from civil lawsuits. The “predicate exception” within PLCAA allows states to enforce statutes that establish a standard of conduct for firearm manufacturers and sellers. The bill does not single out the industry, rather it treats them like others by removing part of a shield that no other industry benefits from.
Through H.B. 7042, Connecticut joins nine other states that have taken action to expand the ability of victims to sue the firearm industry for illegal conduct, according to the Giffords Law Center.
Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said the gun industry had operated with impunity for too long while communities paid the price.
“This bill pulls back that curtain,” Duf said. “If you’re marketing firearms recklessly or willfully ignoring where your products end up, you’re going to be held accountable.”
The bill also closes a loophole in Connecticut law that allowed individuals convicted of certain violent misdemeanors in other states to receive pistol permits here, even though a comparable conviction in Connecticut would disqualify them. This change ensures consistent treatment of applicants regardless of where the conviction occurred.
