A 2005 federal law that protects gun makers and sellers from liability for crimes committed with their products. But Democratic Senate President John Morse said he crafted the legislation to avoid legal challenges by setting different standards of liability for shooters, gun makers and sellers. Liability would be stricter for a shooter because attorneys would not have to prove negligence, according to summary of the language that will be included in the bill. Individuals would also be held liable if they were negligent and an assault weapon they owned was used in a crime.
Sellers and manufacturers would be liable if they failed to use “the highest degree of care” during the sale or transfer of assault weapons to prevent them from being used by criminals.
It’s unclear how it would be proven that a gun manufacturer or seller failed to meet that standard and it would be up to jurors to decide individual cases. The proposal is part of a package of Democratic-sponsored bills that seek to address the mass shootings at an Aurora theater and a Connecticut elementary school. Some of those proposals, including limits on the size of ammunition magazines and universal background checks, have cleared the House and will get their first vote in the Senate next week.
P.S. Insurance professional comment on the proposed changes: Strict liability laws applying to firearms (similar to strict liability imposed for owners of dogs that bite) will lead to a firearms exclusion in policies which provide comprehensive personal liability – the most common of which is the homeowner policy. If firearms liability exclusions are not allowed, fire policies (no liability coverage) will be the only property policy that homeowners in Colorado will be able to purchase.
Generally, any and all intentional acts are excluded in every insurance policy (whether it’s a business auto insurance or cyber liability).
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