Bernie Sanders Voted to Protect Crooked Gun Dealers

Message from Ladd Everitt

In 2004, a group of families destroyed by the D.C. sniper shootings brought a lawsuit against the gun company and dealer that armed the gunmen, Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply. Bull’s Eye’s sales practices were so grossly negligent they had “lost” 238 guns during the previous three-year period , including the Bushmaster rifle used in the shootings. The families won a settlement of $2.5 million when the trial court determined the gun industry could be held liable.

Unfortunately, such lawsuits are no longer possible under the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act” (PLCAA), which was passed by Congress just a year later at the behest of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The law gave gun manufacturers, distributors and dealers broad immunity from civil litigation—protections that were unprecedented and unjustified at the time and remain so.

One of the Members of Congress who voted for PLCAA was then-U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Unfortunately, Sanders—now a U.S. Senator and Democratic candidate for the 2016 Presidential nomination—continues to publicly and vocally support the law.

Click here to tell Senator Sanders to reconsider his support for Gun Industry Immunity.

In recent days on the campaign trail, Senator Sanders has declared, "I don't apologize for that vote" [on PLCAA] and wrongly suggested that it was enacted to protect responsible gun dealers as opposed to negligent ones. These comments earned the Senator 2 Pinocchios from the Washington Post Fact Checker.¹

The Gun Industry Immunity law has slammed the courthouse doors on victims and survivors of gun violence across the country, denying them a fundamental democratic right.

Sign our petition today and tell Senator Sanders it's time for him to side with victims and oppose PLCAA, the ultimate corporate giveaway.

Sincerely,

Ladd Everitt
Director of Communications
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
 

1. Michelle Ye Hee Lee, “Bernie Sanders’s Misleading Characterization of a Controversial Gun Law,” Washington Post Fact Checker, July 10, 2015

Mother of Teen Arrested Over NRA Shirt Sues School District for $450K

Jared Marcum points out that not only did the school’s dress code policy not prohibit images of guns, but a statue on the school grounds depicts a soldier with a rifle and a grenade. (Photo: WOWK)

Guns dot com

The mother of a teen who was arrested and suspended for wearing – and refusing to take off – a National Rifle Association t-shirt to school last April has filed a lawsuit against the school district, claiming her son’s constitutional rights were violated when they prohibited him from wearing the shirt.

The suit named a dozen defendants, among which were Logan Middle School and faculty involved in the incident, including the school’s principal and several teachers, and multiple members of Logan County Board of Education were also named.

The complaint, which was filed in federal court last month, calls for $200,000 in compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages.

Jared Marcum, who was 14-years-old at the time, was stopped by school staff members while standing in line in the cafeteria at lunch time. Staff members told Marcum that his shirt, which featured the NRA logo, a rifle and the words “Protect Your Right,” violated the school’s dress code policy (which has since been removed from the school’s website). The policy prohibited the display of profanity, violence, discriminatory messages or sexually suggestive phrases, but said nothing about images of guns or firearm organizations.