mr. speaker , i thank the chairman for yielding me this time and i thank him and the gentleman from florida ( mr. stearns ) xz4003880 for their visionary leadership on this bipartisan legislation . 
the right to keep and bear arms is enshrined in the second amendment of the constitution of the united states , and the protection of lawful commerce in arms act today will reaffirm our nation 's ability to keep , bear , and manufacture lawful firearms in the united states of america . 
by passing this bill , congress will prevent one or a few state courts from bankrupting the national firearms industry with baseless lawsuits . 
mr. speaker , a gun , by its very nature , is dangerous . 
but throughout the history of tort law in this nation , we have built on the principle of individual responsibility in which a product may not be defined as defective unless there is something wrong with the product , not with the way that it is used . 
the progeny of cases that have emerged in recent years against gun manufacturers flies in the face of both our constitution as well as the history of common law and its tradition . 
it is time for congress to fulfill its congressional duty , exercise its authority under the commerce clause , and prevent a few state courts from bankrupting our national firearms industry that has as its foundation our constitutional right to keep and bear arms . 
