There’s no low that anti-gun states won’t stoop to if they think they can get away with it. The latest example comes out of the anti-gun mecca of Massachusetts. The very state where the American Revolution kicked off in response to the British trying gun control on American shores is now taking a new step in its own gun control journey.
As it is, they’re notoriously bad about blaming law-abiding citizens for the actions of criminals who didn’t follow the law to arm themselves in the first place, but now, they’re going after gun companies.
They’re trying to punish them for what other people do.
A bill up for consideration on Beacon Hill would open the door for firearm manufacturers and distributors to be sued for the harm their products cause, igniting a debate over what gun violence exactly means.
Backers of the “Gun Violence Victims’ Access to Justice Act” argue that the bill would create a code of conduct to “reduce the likelihood that guns end up in the wrong hands” by holding the firearm industry accountable.
Opponents counter that manufacturers and distributors shouldn’t be punished for harm inflicted by those who are behind the gun at the time the violence occurs, and that criminals must be prosecuted.
Under the bill, firearm industry members would be mandated to follow safeguards and business practices that backers say are designed to prevent the sale or distribution of guns to people prohibited from possession under state or federal law or individuals deemed to pose a “substantial risk” of harming themselves or someone else.
The “reasonable controls” would also look to restrict the sale or distribution to a straw purchaser — someone who purchases or gains a gun on behalf of a third party and isn’t eligible for an exemption — or a firearm trafficker.
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Under the proposed bill, firearm industry members include those who manufacture, distribute, import, market or sell guns.
They’d be required to take “reasonable precautions” to ensure that firearms aren’t designed, sold and advertised, to promote the conversion of legal products into illegal products, or in a way that targets minors or individuals prohibited from possessing guns.
A person who suffers harm as a result of a firearm industry member failing to follow code-of-conduct protocols could bring a civil action forward in court. The Attorney General could also civilly sue whoever in the industry the victim deems responsible for the incident.
Here’s the kicker, though. No one knows what the hell “in a way that targets minors or individuals prohibited from possessing guns” actually means.
As it stands, there’s no marketing that targets young people or criminals. It’s all intended to target potential lawful gun buyers, and it does so by trying to address their concerns or interests.
Yet those same concerns or interests are what get manipulated after the fact to claim that the gun companies are marketing to kids or criminals, all because some kid or criminal got a gun. I have yet to see a single instance where they’ve even shown that the bad guy even saw the marketing materials, much less was swayed by them.
Plus, let’s not forget that straw buys only account for a small percentage of the guns that end up in criminal hands, and it’s also not as easy to spot as many like to believe. Sure, there are times when it’s obvious, and the vast majority of dealers want no part of that action.
Criminals get most of their guns through outright theft, either directly or indirectly via black market sales of stolen guns. This law won’t do anything about that.
What it will do, though, is drive up the cost of doing business in the commonwealth to as much of a degree as possible, potentially driving manufacturers completely out of the state and thus depriving law-abiding people of their right to keep and bear arms, all without directly banning anything.
It’s disgusting, but what else do you expect from anti-gunners in Massachusetts?
The gentlemen in Lexington and Concord would be disgusted with what their state has become.
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