No, it’s not deja vu. The National Rifle Association has just been subjected to new legal humiliation. 3 months later New York jury finds NRA executives guilty An organization that treats safes like their own piggy banks. just solved Similar lawsuit in Washington, D.C. Now, the D.C. attorney general is suing the NRA for violating nonprofit law by using its charitable foundation as a slush fund to shore up the parent organization’s dwindling finances.
The NRA’s legal turmoil is welcome news to millions of Americans crying out for solutions to America’s gun violence epidemic and the quadruple crisis for the firearms industry. For the past 30 years, the NRA has served as the gun industry’s armor. The NRA was large enough to hide the companies profiting from its “guns everywhere” policy, and intimidating enough to keep Washington lawmakers in line. But these days, that armor is losing limbs faster than the knight in armor. monty python movie. In addition to spending more time in court than Donald Trump, he recently boasted to NRA members: His administration ‘did nothing’ on gun safety — The organization is failing on almost every other metric. Since 2013, its annual yield has been Membership fee It plummeted by more than half. $1 to $5 You will need to hire an outside lawyer.
As the NRA collapses around it, the firearms industry still has one “get out of jail free card” in its pocket. Protection of Lawful Arms Commerce Laws, which Congress rubber-stamped in 2005 at the request of the NRA. This law gave the firearms industry nearly unprecedented legal protection. For comparison, if other industries enjoyed similar protections, car airbags would still be an option, Purdue Pharma might still be peddling opioids like Pez, and Joe Camel would still be peddling opioids like Pez. They may still be selling cigarettes to children.
To understand how greedily the firearms industry has exploited its privileged position, consider its refusal to implement even the most basic safety measures. For example, even the cheapest smartphones have fingerprint locks these days, but not guns. That’s because manufacturers want to spend their research and development budgets on gadgets that allow guns to fire faster, hold more ammunition, and circumvent gun safety laws.
The collapse of the firearms industry, unbridled by even a momentary concern for human life, has been devastating. Although the number of shootings is down from the highs seen during the pandemic, 120 Americans Gun violence continues to claim lives and injure 200 more people every day. Shamefully, many of the victims are children, and gun violence is now an epidemic. main cause of death For American children and teens, this statistic would prompt urgent action in almost every other country.
But there are reasons to be hopeful. In the face of so much inevitable bloodshed, the gun safety movement is doing what all successful social movements do when faced with seemingly immovable obstacles. So we’re finding ways around them.
This can be seen in the White House, where President Biden has just taken office. Confirmed Rule requiring background checks for all gun sales, including online and at gun shows. This nearly closes one of the biggest loopholes in our country’s gun laws.
It can be seen in state capitols, eight of which are in the Capitol. Passed legislation to make it easier to litigate the firearms industry.
This can also be seen at City Hall, where the mayor’s coalition is expanding. naming and shaming Gun companies’ products appear at crime scenes at a disproportionate rate.
And you can see it in court. The litigation department at Everytown for Gun Safety, where I work, is pioneering new strategies to bring reckless members of the firearms industry to justice. For example, we recently partnered with the City of Chicago to sue glock Making it easier for criminals to modify semi-automatic handguns to an illegal machine gun.
These efforts are chipping away at the firearms industry’s veneer of invincibility. Gun company executives now face a critical choice. We can either double down on our strategy of prioritizing profit over public safety, or we can read the situation and start taking basic steps to stop the carnage. They would be wise to consider the example of the NRA, which went from invincible to invisible in the blink of an eye.
John Feinblatt is Chairman of Everytown for Gun Safety.
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