Congress has voted in favor of a bill that prohibits civil liability actions from being brought or continued against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms or ammunition for damages resulting from the misuse of their products by others. “Our laws should punish criminals who use guns to commit crimes, not law-abiding manufacturers of lawful products,” said President George W. Bush, in a statement before he signed the bill.

Since 1998, more than 30 city, county, and state governments have filed lawsuits against the firearm industry to demand compensation for the public costs associated with gun violence, such as police investigation, emergency personnel, public health resources, courts, and prisons. The House voted 283-144 in favor of the bill, following its 65-31 approval by the Senate in July.

Gun manufacturers are one of only two industries, the other being the tobacco industry, that are exempt from federal health and safety regulation, according to the Violence Policy Center. “Now the unregulated gun industry also will enjoy protection from legitimate lawsuits by individuals, such as victims of the Washington, D.C.-area snipers, injured by the reckless and negligent actions of gun manufacturers and dealers,” said the center's legislative director, Kristen Rand. “This legislation will make the unregulated gun industry the most pampered industry in America.”