00                      SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 15                                                                    
01 Requesting the United States Congress to end the abuse of tort laws against the firearms                                
02 industry.                                                                                                               
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS citizens have a right, protected by the Second Amendment to the United                                  
05 States Constitution, to keep and bear arms; and                                                                         
06       WHEREAS lawsuits that seek money damages and other relief for the harm caused                                   
07 by the misuse of firearms by third parties, including criminals, have been commenced against                            
08 manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms that operate as designed and                            
09 intended; and                                                                                                           
10       WHEREAS the manufacture, importation, possession, sale, and use of firearms and                                 
11 ammunition in the United States are heavily regulated by federal, state, and local laws,                                
12 including the Gun Control Act of 1968, the National Firearms Act, and the Arms Export                                   
13 Control Act; and                                                                                                        
14       WHEREAS businesses in the United States that are engaged in interstate and foreign                              
15 commerce through the lawful design, manufacture, marketing, distribution, importation, or                               
16 sale of firearms or ammunition to the public that has been shipped or transported in interstate                         

01 of foreign commerce are not, and should not, be liable for the harm caused by those who                                 
02 criminally or unlawfully misuse firearm products or ammunition products that function as                                
03 designed and intended; and                                                                                              
04       WHEREAS thirty-three states have passed legislation protecting firearms and                                     
05 ammunition manufacturers, and legislation in the United States Congress supporting this                                 
06 measure has broad bipartisan support;                                                                                   
07       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests the United States                                     
08 Congress to pass legislation to end the abuse of tort laws against the firearms industry.                               
09       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W.  Bush, President                             
10 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States                              
11 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Bill Frist, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate;                         
12 the Honorable Harry Reid, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable J. Dennis                                   
13 Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Tom DeLay, Majority                                
14 Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of                             
15 the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa                                     
16 Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of                                  
17 the Alaska delegation in Congress; and the Honorable Frank H. Murkowski, Governor of                                    
18 Alaska.