Problems With S.397

The NRA backed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, and I fully support the intentions of this legislation, which was passed by both the House and Senate to prevent people from suing gun makers for crimes committed with their products (after all, would you sue Ford if a drunk driver hit you with an Escort?). A problem with it is Section 5, specifically Clause 3, which was introduced in the Senate version, S. 397, but left out of H.R. 800.

Here is Clause 3, verbatim:

"
`(3) LIABILITY FOR USE-
`(A) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person who has lawful possession and control of a handgun, and who uses a secure gun storage or safety device with the handgun, shall be entitled to immunity from a qualified civil liability action.
`(B) PROSPECTIVE ACTIONS- A qualified civil liability action may not be brought in any Federal or State court.
`(C) DEFINED TERM- As used in this paragraph, the term `qualified civil liability action'--
`(i) means a civil action brought by any person against a person described in subparagraph (A) for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of the handgun by a third party, if--
`(I) the handgun was accessed by another person who did not have the permission or authorization of the person having lawful possession and control of the handgun to have access to it; and
`(II) at the time access was gained by the person not so authorized, the handgun had been made inoperable by use of a secure gun storage or safety device; and
`(ii) shall not include an action brought against the person having lawful possession and control of the handgun for negligent entrustment or negligence per se.'."

What this clause means is if someone breaks into your house and steals your gun, the only way you can get immunity from prosecution if the person commits a crime with your stolen gun is to make sure that it is locked by a "secure gun storage or safety device."

The downside to this is that locked guns cannot save lives. It is very foolish to keep a gun locked (unless you have children) when you are at home, because if someone breaks into your house, unlocking the gun could add 10 seconds. 10 seconds can easily be the difference between life and death. So, either you lock the gun up everytime you leave (if you live in one of the few, awful states that does not allow CCW), or you risk getting sued over someone else's actions.

Here is my advice to my readers: Keep your gun unlocked if you wish, and buy a cable safety lock. If your gun is stolen and the police arrive, show them the cable lock that the burglar "cut" which can easily be done with bolt cutters. You get the idea. This will save you money in the long run.