Washington, DC - Congressman Edolphus ¡§Ed¡¨ Towns (D-Brooklyn) blasted the Republican led Congress today for pushing legislation to protect manufacturers and sellers of firearms and ammunition from civil liability lawsuits. 

¡§I¡¦ve heard of throwing bones to constituency bases before, but I might define this as the 96 ounce Peter Luger¡¦s Porterhouse with all the sides included,¡¨ said Towns, who has been critical of gun lobbying groups, such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) for several years.

¡§If this bill were to become law, the gun industry would be granted more liability protection than any other industry in America, continued Towns. ¡§The gun industry dumps thousands and thousands of guns onto the streets in municipalities like New York and has never been held responsible for their irresponsible actions.  This bill would make it impossible to hold the industry accountable for their actions.¡¨

Towns voted against H.R. 1036, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which passed the House today by a vote of 285 to 140.  The bill would prohibit future lawsuits and dismiss current liability lawsuits underway against the gun industry.

¡§I am particularly concerned about the timing of this bill given the lawsuit filed by the NAACP against the gun industry, which is taking place in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn,¡¨ said Towns.  ¡§This bill would prohibit that suit from going forward.

¡§Instead of dealing with the real problems that are confronting us such as job security or a prescription drug bill for seniors, the Republican leadership rushed this bill to the House floor before the NRA convention begins in a couple of weeks.¡¨

Congressman Towns, who strongly opposed a similar bill last year, has long been an advocate for removing guns, including toy guns, from New York Cityƒ­s streets.