HB1387

My name is Barbara Finamore, and I strongly support HB 1387. Last year, New Hampshire enacted a limited liability law shielding gun manufacturers from responsibility for certain firearm design features. This law places the gun industry outside the normal rules that apply to virtually every other industry. In all other sectors—automobiles, pharmaceuticals, consumer products—manufacturers are held accountable when design choices unnecessarily endanger the public. That accountability creates incentives to improve safety, reduce harm, and innovate responsibly. The gun industry should be no different. By limiting liability, New Hampshire removed an important legal tool that encourages safer design and responsible practices. HB 1387 is necessary to restore balance, accountability, and basic fairness under the law. This bill does not ban firearms or prevent lawful ownership. It simply ensures that gun manufacturers are not granted special immunity and are subject to the same standards of responsibility as everyone else. I urge you to pass HB 1387 and reverse last year’s mistake. Thank you.

As with all other industries, the gun industry should not be shielded from liability, with no accountability or incentive to make firearms safe. Legislation is needed to reverse last year’s decision to provide limited liability for gun manufacturers. We need to get serious about making Americans safer and this is one small step towards that end.

Last year, NH passed a limited liability law for gun manufacturers. As with all other industries, the gun industry should not be shielded from liability, with no accountability or incentive to make firearms safe. Legislation is needed to reverse that protection.

Gun manufacturers should be held responsible for the safety of their merchandise

As manufacturers of guns, these industries should bear responsibility for their product. They should not be shielded from liability as this removes incentive for them to make firearms safe.

I feel gun companies should be liable for features that make them less safe.

Common sense regulations please!

Gun manufacturers should not be immune from liability anymore than any other product manufacturer, in fact due to the lethality of the product they're manufacturing, responsibilities should be greater. I strongly support repealing limited liability in this case and in general. .

I fully support this bill. Last year, NH passed a limited liability law for gun manufacturers, As with other industries, gun manufacturers should not be shielded or protected from liability. They need incentives and to be accountable to make firearms as safe as they can be. Legislation to reverse this protection is necessary to reverse that protection

As with any product, if they don’t function and cause harm, they should be held liable.

House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee Members: My name is Sarah Gentile, I am a resident of Rochester, New Hampshire. I am also a gun owner. I am reaching out to express my SUPPORT for HB 1387. Last year, New Hampshire enacted a limited liability law for firearm manufacturers. That choice carved out a special exemption for one industry that no other consumer product manufacturer can claim. HB 1387 is necessary to reverse the limited liability law for firearm manufacturers and restore our basic principles of accountability for all. It is quite clear that this law was written with a specific manufacturer in mind: Sig Sauer. Sig Sauer has faced numerous lawsuits regarding its P320 Pistol which can fire without an intentional trigger pull due to flaws in the design. Rather than allowing courts to examine those claims, the legislature chose to preemptively block them. The law states that manufacturers cannot be held liable “based on the absence” of safety mechanisms, insulating SIG Sauer from the very allegations raised in those lawsuits. That is outrageous and the approach is at odds with American tort law. Product liability does not require a product to fail completely before being deemed defective – a product can work exactly as intended and still be unreasonable dangerous because of its design. Consider the litigation against Ford Motors regarding the Pinto fuel tank. The concern was an unreasonable risk of fire in a collision and Ford was held liable not because the car didn’t operate, but because the design risked lives. Should we also reverse course on seat belts? Air bags? Other automobile safety designs meant to save lives because crashes are often caused by driver error? No, because it’s stupid and dangerous. Manufacturers, gun manufacturers included, have responsibility to reduce foreseeable harm through safer design. We must allow courts to do their job and determine, case by case, whether a manufacturer acted negligently – not fully insulate them from accountability. For years, the firearm industry has run with fewer accountability mechanisms than nearly any other consumer product sector. Shielding them only removes incentives to improve safety and encourages profits without responsibility. HB 1387 is necessary to repeal a horrible law that never should have existed in the first place. I urge your support of HB 1387 and reaffirm that no industry is above the law in New Hampshire. Thank you, Sarah Gentile

Last year, NH passed a limited liability law for gun manufacturers. As with all other industries, the gun industry should not be shielded from liability, with no accountability or incentive to make firearms safe. Legislation is needed to reverse that protection.

I support repealing limiting liability for certain design features of firearms. The law that passed last year limited liability law for gun manufacturers and that was wrong. As with all other industries, the gun industry should not be shielded from liability, with no accountability or incentive to make firearms safe. Please repeal limited liability.

I do not support this bill!

As with all other industries, the gun industry should not be shielded from liability, with no accountability or incentive to make firearms safe. Legislation is needed to reverse that protection.

ear Members of the Committee, I am writing to express my support for HB 1387. This legislation would repeal the current statute that limits liability for certain design features of firearms. I believe this change is a responsible and necessary step toward ensuring that firearm manufacturers, distributors, and dealers are held accountable under the same legal standards as other product manufacturers when their products cause harm due to dangerous design choices. No industry should be categorically exempt from liability for product design defects. Repealing the liability limitation would help ensure that victims of gun-related injuries have fair access to the civil justice system to seek compensation when they are harmed by unsafe products. This accountability can also encourage better safety practices throughout the industry, ultimately contributing to reduced harm and improved public safety. Additionally, HB 1387 aligns with basic principles of fairness in our legal system: if a product is defective or unreasonably dangerous, injured individuals deserve the opportunity to pursue legal remedies, regardless of the type of product involved. Creating special immunities for one industry risks eroding public confidence in our civil justice system and can send the message that some harms are less deserving of legal recourse than others. For these reasons, I respectfully urge the committee to support HB 1387. Thank you for the opportunity to share my views and for your service to the people of New Hampshire. Sincerely, Amie Price

As a mother of three children, I support this bill.

Categorizing the manufacture and sale of deadly weapons as lawful commerce is an affront to our common sense. These manufacturers and dealers should not be shielded from the consequences of their deadly profits.

Why are we protecting the gun industry instead of the people harmed by guns? I support this bill because I support the victims not the perpetrators