Bernie Sanders voted for the most reprehensible pro-gun legislation in recent memory.

[Unvanguard]

117. Any lawsuit alleging negligence fits that mold.

That's just what a negligence claim is. This law was not enacted in response to courts holding that gun manufacturers or retailers were strictly liable for gun deaths. That claim is a loser and it was long before the law. It was enacted in response to the prospect of courts holding manufacturers and retailers liable for negligent practices that let guns fall into the hands of criminals.

You don't handle frivolous claims of liability by abolishing liability, any more than you handle prosecutions of innocent people by abolishing the criminal code. And you definitely don't do so by enacting special protections for particular business interests. What you're doing is just repeating the mischaracterization advanced by supporters of laws like this, the idea that somehow these lawsuits are about making A responsible for what B does. No: they are about holding A accountable for what A does, including when A's actions negligently enable B. The message of the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act" is that the firearms industry should have a special protection from accountability.

Federal regulation of gun sales is probably inadequate, but the government regulation is not the issue here. Just as I can be liable for harm to another person even if my behavior isn't criminal, so should gun manufacturers and retailers be held responsible for harms resulting from their negligence even if their behavior doesn't violate government regulations.