Repeal Gun Industry Immunity
Repeal Gun Industry Immunity
What does this solve?
The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) blocks legal responsibility for gun manufacturers that have failed to innovate and make guns safer, and for manufacturers, distributors, and dealers with irresponsible, reckless and negligent sales practices that contribute to the flood of illegal firearms in our communities.
Since PLCAA passed in 2005, not a single gun manufacturer accused of negligence has gone to trial. The gun industry’s broad immunity from legal accountability should be repealed.
Which states have expanded legal accountability for the gun industry?
10 states have adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Alabama has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Alaska has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Arizona has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Arkansas has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
California has adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Colorado has adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Connecticut has adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Delaware has adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Florida has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Georgia has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Hawaii has adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Idaho has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Illinois has adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Indiana has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Iowa has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Kansas has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Kentucky has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Louisiana has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Maine has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Maryland has adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Massachusetts has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Michigan has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Minnesota has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Mississippi has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Missouri has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Montana has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Nebraska has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Nevada has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
New Hampshire has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
New Jersey has adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
New Mexico has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
New York has adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
North Carolina has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
North Dakota has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Ohio has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Oklahoma has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Oregon has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Pennsylvania has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Rhode Island has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
South Carolina has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
South Dakota has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Tennessee has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Texas has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Utah has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Vermont has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Virginia has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Washington has adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
West Virginia has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Wisconsin has not adopted this policy
Legal Accountability for Gun Industry
Wyoming has not adopted this policy
How it Works
The gun industry should adhere to the same rules as every other industry and be held accountable when its actions result in harm.
An extraordinary law has provided gun manufacturers and sellers who skirt the law with a unique, broad immunity from legal accountability. The PLCAA gives gun industry members a shield from the lawsuits that are most often used in the United States to hold businesses accountable for products or practices that harm people. PLCAA blocks legal responsibility for gun manufacturers that have failed to innovate and make guns safer, and for manufacturers, distributors and dealers with irresponsible, reckless and negligent sales practices that contribute to the flood of illegal firearms in our communities.
In 2005, at the strong urging of the gun lobby, Congress passed PLCAA, one of the biggest giveaways to private industry in American history. It gives gun manufacturers and sellers more protection from litigation than makers of cars or tobacco products. While PLCAA has narrow exceptions, it bars the civil lawsuits that are most often used to hold industries accountable.
Myth & Fact
Myth
Criminals are the only ones responsible for gun violence, not the gun industry.
Fact
Of course criminals are personally responsible for their crimes. But the gun industry also plays a major role in fueling our gun violence crisis, but it is rarely held responsible for how it makes and sells its products but PLCAA provides a broad shield against most legal accountability.
Featured Resources

Update Background Check Laws
Updating federal and state laws to require background checks on all gun sales is a common-sense way to keep guns out of the wrong hands.

Undeniable: How Long-Standing Loopholes in the Background Check System Have Been Exacerbated by COVID-19
Loopholes must be addressed to ensure that guns are not sold without a completed background check.

Mass Shootings in America
Only through understanding the true nature of mass shootings can we begin to seek evidence-based solutions.
All Resources
Repeal Gun Industry Immunity
All Resources
Who is Manufacturing the Guns Used in Crimes?
The same manufacturers who are engaging in risky business practices to profit the most from gun sales are also behind the most gun crimes.
Report
New Data, Same Conclusion: Smart Gun Laws Save Lives
Everytown's Gun Law Rankings show a clear correlation between states with strong gun laws and lower rates of gun violence.
Everytown Research & Policy
The Smoking Gun
An online resource committed to exposing the gun industry’s role in our gun violence epidemic today.
Everytown Research & PolicyGhost Guns Recoveries and Shootings
Everytown Research & Policy has collected examples of reported murders and shootings using ghost guns since 2013.
Data Tracker
Inside the Gun Shop: Firearms Dealers and Their Impact
This report spells out the basic facts about licensed dealers and the relationship between these dealers and gun crimes.
Report
Sobrevivientes de violencia con armas de fuego en los Estados Unidos
Esta encuesta explora la amplitud de la violencia con armas de fuego en los Estados Unidos y su impacto en los sobrevivientes.
Report
Gun Violence Survivors in America
This survey explores the breadth of gun violence in America and how it impacts survivors.
Report
The Gun Industry’s Power Broker: A Closer Look at the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the Front Group for America’s Gun Makers and Sellers
The NSSF isn’t as well known as the NRA, but it is just as extreme and exacerbates our gun violence epidemic.
Report
Ten Years of Preventable Tragedies: Findings from the #NotAnAccident Index of Unintentional Shootings by Children
Unintentional shootings by children are a persistent yet preventable tragedy that disproportionately involves preschool and teenage boys.
Report
Preventable Tragedies: Findings from the #NotAnAccident Index of Unintentional Shootings by Children
Unintentional shootings by children are a persistent yet preventable tragedy that disproportionately involves preschool and teenage boys.
Report
The Firearms Industry and the Paycheck Protection Program
Despite a record year in sales and demand, the firearms industry received extensive support from the paycheck protection program in 2020.
Report
Five Things to Know About Crime Guns, Gun Trafficking, and Background Checks
The current patchwork of state laws makes it easy for individuals to traffic firearms from states with weaker gun laws.
Report
Armed and Dangerous: How the Gun Lobby Enshrines Guns as Tools of the Extreme Right
For decades, the gun lobby has enabled extremists to access guns through its opposition of common sense gun laws.
Report
Gun Violence in America
We have gathered the most comprehensive, publicly available data to illustrate the magnitude of everyday gun violence.
Report
Stolen Guns Pose a Tremendous Risk to Public Safety
Thousands of guns are stolen every year and often wind up at crime scenes. Stolen guns pose a tremendous risk to public safety.
Fact Sheet
The SHARE Act Is Dangerous and Unnecessary
Bottom Line: Silencers pose a significant danger in the wrong hands, making it harder for bystanders or law enforcement to identify and react quickly to…
Fact SheetBusiness As Usual
Americans suffer from an extraordinary rate of gun violence, 20 times higher than nations with comparable levels of economic development.1EG Richardson…
Report