Senator Myrie's Gun Industry Liability Bill Passes Senate Comittee

ALBANY— Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie (D-Brooklyn) today released the following statement after the Senate Consumer Protection Committee voted to advance S.1048-A, legislation aimed at the gun industry's immunity from civil lawsuits stemming from the dangers posed by its products:

"When an industry's wrongful conduct harms New Yorkers, our laws allow those injured to be compensated. From lead paint and tobacco companies, to auto manufacturers and pharmaceuticals, these laws create a strong incentive for responsible behavior in the marketplace. This principle applies across nearly all consumer industries except one: a firearms industry that has obtained valuable protections under federal law, at tremendous cost to New Yorkers impacted by gun violence.

"I can think of no industry engaging in conduct that is more wrongful, more irresponsible, more often, with more impunity and with more dire consequences in communities like the ones I represent. An industry that has fought tooth and nail against even the most elementary level of accountability— that has worked to ban even the study of its products' effects— is not deserving of special protection. Instead, it deserves the same treatment and liability as any other product manufactured, marketed and used in New York State.

"Today's vote puts New York on the path toward finally rebalancing the scales of justice between a powerful and profitable industry on one side, and neighborhoods across New York State that have been ripped apart by gun violence on the other. I am proud to stand with them in advancing this first-of-its-kind legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join me in helping this bill become law."