mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman for yielding me time .  i rise in support of s. 397 , the protection of lawful commerce in firearms act .  it will prohibit lawsuits against firearms manufacturers , legal distributors , dealers or importers for damages resulting from the misuse of a firearm by a third party .  the bill is very similar to a house bill that i joined with the gentleman from florida ( mr. stearns )  in sponsoring earlier this year .  our house bill achieves the same objectives as the senate bill now before us , and the house bill has been cosponsored by 257 members of this body .  the lawsuits against the firearms industry are nothing more than thinly veiled attempts to circumvent the legislative process and achieve gun control through litigation .  frustrated that congress and most state legislatures have rejected repeated attempts to have gun control imposed , some have now turned to the courts in their effort to limit the legal availability of firearms .  i want for my constituents and for all americans to be able to purchase guns for lawful purposes .  the vast majority of gun owners use their firearms responsibly .  they should not be restricted in their future purchases because the threat of lawsuits has rendered the american market economically unattractive for the manufacturers .  while the bill before us will prohibit lawsuits against manufacturers and others in the chain of distribution based upon misuse of the firearm , it does not interfere with traditional remedies for damages resulting from defects or design in the manufacture of products .  the bill provides no shelter to those who would sell firearms illegally .  it does not affect suits against anyone who has violated other state or federal laws .  this bill is a commonsense measure to eliminate lawsuits which unjustly interrupt the legal sale of a legal product .  a majority of states , including my home state of virginia , enacted similar laws prohibiting these suits .  with our votes today , we will provide a much-needed additional response .  i urge approval of the measure .  