Policy

Tenn. lawmakers send gun industry immunity bill to governor

It comes weeks after a school shooting in Nashville and as Gov. Bill Lee (R) and Democrats call for legislation to address gun violence.
Demonstrators lock arms with each other during the “Arms Are for Hugging” protest for gun control legislation, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Participants created a human chain spreading from Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, where victims of The Covenant School shooting were taken on March 27, to the Tennessee State Capitol. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Senate Republicans gave final approval to a bill that would protect gun manufacturers from certain civil lawsuits, weeks after a school shooting in Nashville and as Gov. Bill Lee (R) and Democrats call for legislation to address gun violence.

Under the bill, civil lawsuits would be prohibited in state court against a dealer, manufacturer, or seller of a firearm, ammunition, or a part of a firearm or ammunition unless certain conditions are met. Those include individuals affiliated with the gun industry accompanying a person committing a crime, the firearm is defective, or there is misrepresentation by the industry that results in harm.

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