The Best Hope for Fixing America’s Gun Crisis
Even if Congress does manage to pass gun legislation in the weeks ahead—still a big if—that legislation will leave much to be done. The proposed framework does not, for example, increase the minimum age for purchasing firearms, address assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition, or close background-check loopholes for secondary sales, among other shortcomings.
Americans who want a more far-reaching answer to the country’s gun crisis should look elsewhere: to the nation’s tort system, which is available right now to push gun manufacturers to adopt precautionary marketing practices, safer designs, and more supervised sales regimes.
[Read: How bipartisan gun-control talks actually succeeded]
Since the of 18th-century England, tort law has existed to compensate parties for their injuries, both physical and emotional. With further gun regulation stalled in Congress and state legislatures beholden to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment, litigation holds out the possibility that victims of gun violence might be monetarily compensated for their injuries. What’s more, successful plaintiff-driven lawsuits can motivate defendants (and their insurers) to avoid future liability by changing their business models to maximize gun safety. In other words, the threat of litigation and high-value jury verdicts can promote self-regulation by the gun industry as an alternative
