US Senate Votes to Grant Gunmakers Lawsuit Immunity

US Senate votes to grant gunmakers lawsuit immunity WASHINGTON, July 29 (Xinhua) — The US Senate on Friday passed a bill which provides gunmakers unprecedented immunity in liability lawsuits filed by gun-crime victims. With a 65-31 vote, the Republican-controlled Senate endorsed the bill “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act”, which criticizers accused of reflecting interests of the Bush administration and the National Rifle Association, its powerful supporter. The US House of Representatives will vote on the bill after the summer Congress recess, and with strong Republican presence, the House is very likely to follow suit. Under the new legislation, it will be very difficult to hold gunmakers, dealers or importers responsible in civil lawsuits filed by gun-crime victims and their families. The bill is closely linked to a long-time debate on gun control in the US society. The Republicans and their friends in the firearm industry strongly defend the rights of gunmakers and users while the Democrats and civil right groups call for imposing stricter gun control. On Friday, Senate Democrats tried to introduce several amendments to the bill in order to reduce protection of the gunmakers, but their efforts were largely in vain except for inserting a requirement in the bill that handguns should be sold with trigger locks and child safety equipment. Last year, the Republicans gathered enough votes to pass the bill but could not ward off Democrat amendments including an extension of a 10-year ban on assault weapons enacted in 1994. Rather than accepting the amendments, the Republicans postponed the vote till the ban exceeds its time limit.