Leading gun industry executives are slated to appear before a US House of Representatives committee conducting an inquiry on the recent gun violence in Texas and New York.
The House Oversight committee's inquiry, according to its chairwoman, Democrat Carolyn Maloney of New York, will "examine the responsibility that the firearm industry bears in contributing to the gun violence epidemic in the United States and the steps Congress can take to hold manufacturers accountable."
Mark P. Smith, president and CEO of Smith & Wesson Brands Inc., as well as Christopher Killoy, president and chief executive of Sturm, Ruger & Co Inc., and Marty Daniel, CEO of Daniel Defense LLC, were invited to the hearing on Wednesday, according to a report from US News.
Her committee initiated an investigation into firearms manufacturers following the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, and requested information from the businesses regarding their selling and marketing of AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles and related firearms, she wrote.
What Will Be the Hearing's Point of Discussion?
The gun killings, which occurred in May barely ten days apart, left 31 people dead and shook a nation infamous for its high rate of gun violence, per Reuters.
The legislator informed the CEO in letters that the hearing's main topic would be the contribution of the arms industry to the rise in gun violence. This, according to her, includes the selling and marketing of assault weapons as well as the "broad civil immunity that has been unfairly granted to manufacturers."
According to Maloney, the CEOs' products had been used for years "to carry out homicides and even mass murders," such as the Fourth of July shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, which resulted in seven fatalities and numerous injuries.
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Rep. Maloney Believes Gun Manufacturers Are Liable
Rep. Maloney spoke with ABC News about the situation before the oversight committee meeting with the gun manufacturers on Wednesday regarding their role in the epidemic of gun violence in the US.
She disclosed that two of the gun manufacturers' CEOs had accepted the invitation, and "one is dodging" and does not communicate with the panel. "And we intend to hold them accountable eventually in some form," Maloney noted.
The legislator also implied that gun manufacturers have a "responsibility" for the problem of gun violence in the United States.
"We have liability on our cars. Every time there's a car wreck, we study it. We should do the same thing with guns. We should have liability for guns. They're far more dangerous than cars," she said.
"And then the drug industry, they keep a record of how much problems result from their drugs. We should be doing the same thing with guns. There are ways to hold them accountable. Stay tuned. You'll hear more information from our hearing this weekend. And we are working on additional legislation that will be coming forward hopefully that will make America safer for our citizens," Rep. Maloney added.
House Democrats are drafting new gun reform legislation one month after President Joe Biden signed a bill enacting expanded background checks, targeted red flag measures, and bipartisan gun reform.
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