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Since it was passed in 2005, the Lawful Trade Protection of Weapons Act has protected the firearms industry from being held liable for damage caused by its products. Champe Barton said in August that recent “pollution” laws in California, Delaware, New Jersey and New York would allow governments and private citizens to sue for improper marketing and sales practices. It reported that it is now possible to hold manufacturers accountable for violence.
A gun group led by the National Shooting Sports Foundation has swiftly launched challenges in multiple states against these laws. Washington Post The NSSF’s approach appears to be a ruse to get the case to the Supreme Court.
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NRA’s top lobbyist, Jason Ouimet is leaving the gun group after playing the role for about four years. [The Reload] context: With Wuimet’s departure, the NRA’s political activism has lost its leader, and the group’s membership and political contributions have plummeted. — Will Van Sant
Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff Mark Lamb said: announced at a gun rights rally in Phoenix that he was “seriously considering” running for the U.S. Senate. Lam is a “passionate defender of the Second Amendment” and has said he supports the formation of private militias. [Posse Comitatus/Politico]
Florida Senate Committee Approved a permit-free concealed carry bill with provisions to improve school safety. The law has drawn criticism from gun rights and gun safety advocates alike. [Florida Politics]
Michigan State University reopens Monday class. Many people on campus said they weren’t ready to go back. [Detroit Free Press]
Cleveland Department of Public Safety has decided to remove the names and badge numbers of officers from its whistleblower notices regarding disciplinary cases, ranging from minor offenses to serious brutality. This erasure raises new concerns about transparency in police departments under federal oversight. [The Marshall Project]
TSA intercepted a record 6,542 guns At an airport checkpoint in 2022. Except for the 2020 pandemic that disrupted air travel, the number of weapons detected at security checkpoints has increased every year since 2010. [CBS News]
Auckland program created for Responding to non-violent, non-urgent 911 calls goes one step further. Responders take to the streets to find people in need. They say they’re preventing emergency calls, but law enforcement officials and the Citizens Advisory Board say the group has neglected its mission. [The Reporter]
Anti-trans violence is not Attorney Heron Greenesmith argues. Rather, the movement to demonize trans people is closely based on a script documented in detail nearly a decade ago by a prominent researcher. [In These Times]
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A Guide to the Gun Industry’s Unique Legal Protections: The protection of legitimate commerce in the Arms Act passed in 2005 gave the gun industry what legal scholars call immunity. Here’s what you should know about this: (January 27, 2020)
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