by Steve Klitzman, Chair, Temple Sinai GVP Group
The Gun Violence Prevention Group is holding its 21st GVP educational program on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 7 pm (in person and on Zoom) with Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase. The program is entitled “Gun Industry Accountability: Seeking Justice for All in Maryland.” See program details and register here.
The program will feature MD State Senator Jeff Waldstreicher (D-18). He plans to reintroduce the “Gun Industry Accountability Act of 2024” in the 2024 session of the Maryland General Assembly. His bill would create a state cause of action for the Maryland Attorney General and private citizens to sue gun manufacturers and others in the gun industry whose reckless business and marketing practices for their firearms cause injury or death in Maryland.
This new state cause of action would be under the state law violation exception of the federal “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act” (“PLCAA”) enacted in 2005. This law otherwise grants the gun industry an absolute immunity from liability for gun injuries and death caused by their reckless practices and firearms. Enactment of the Gun Industry Accountability Act would make Maryland the eighth state to enact such a court access statute for gun violence victims and survivors.
Another speaker on Nov. 5 will be Erin Davis, Senior Counsel, Director of Litigation, Brady United, who has represented victims of gun violence in lawsuits against the gun industry.
The program moderator will be Karen Herren, Executive Director, Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, a leading GVP advocacy group in Annapolis.
Sandy and Lonnie Phillips are the program’s keynote speakers. They lost their daughter, Jessi Redfield Ghawi, on July 20, 2012 in Aurora, CO when gunman James Holmes used an AR-15 military style assault weapon to slaughter 12 people, including Jessi, in just 90 seconds at a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Lonnie and Sandy Phillips sued the companies responsible for supplying the bullets, tear gas and body armor to James Holmes, also known as the “Batman killer.” The Phillips not only lost their lawsuit vs. the gun industry defendants because of the PLCAA barrier but were forced to pay the winners’ legal costs of $203,000.
One of the companies involved, Lucky Gunner, said it would donate the recovered legal fees to various “gun rights” groups voted for by their customers, which include the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America.
The loss forced the Phillips to sell their home and move into an RV which they use to travel to sites of major gun massacres to offer moral support as a victims’ advocate for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The Phillips also founded a major gun violence survivor advocacy group, Survivors Empowered. Their motto is “We are your soft place to land after your life has been forever changed by gun violence.”
We hope you will join us for this impactful and informative program. While we hope you can join us in person, this is a hybrid program that can also be joined virtually. Learn more and register here.