What's happening
This bill allows individuals injured or killed by firearms due to negligent entrustment to sue for damages, including against manufacturers and sellers.
Why it matters
Expands legal accountability. By explicitly allowing lawsuits for negligent entrustment, this bill increases the legal risks for firearm manufacturers and sellers, incentivizing stricter sales practices and more careful vetting of buyers.
Broadens scope of liability. The bill applies not just to direct sellers but to any entity or person who "caused or contributed" to injury through negligent entrustment, potentially including wholesalers, distributors, or even private sellers.
Defines certain firearms as inherently risky. The legislation presumes that distributing automatic or semi-automatic firearms not commonly used for hunting—such as handguns and assault weapons—constitutes an unreasonable risk, making it easier to bring claims involving these weapons.
Enables recovery of punitive damages and survival actions. The bill allows for both actual and punitive damages, and ensures that claims survive the victim (i.e., can be brought by family or estate), potentially increasing the financial consequences for negligent parties and supporting victims’ families.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Compensate Gun Negligence Victims
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
867
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by Sens. BAILEY, COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the general obligations law, in relation to providing for compensation for injury or death caused by the negligent entrustment of a firearm
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Legislative intent. The federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, 109 P.L. 92, 119 Stat. 2095, bars almost all civil actions or proceedings against manufacturers and sellers of firearms, but it provides an exemption for actions brought for negligent entrustment. Negligent entrustment under the act means the supplying of a firearm by a seller for use by another person when the seller knows, or reasonably should know, the person to whom the product is supplied is likely to, and does, use the product in a manner involving unreasonable risk of physical injury to the person or others. It is the intent of the legislature to extend the negligent entrustment liability of firearm manufacturers and sellers to the maximum extent allowable under federal law.
§ 2. The general obligations law is amended by adding a new section 11-108 to read as follows:
§ 11-108. Compensation for injury or death caused by the negligent entrustment of a firearm. 1. Any person who is injured in person, property, means of support, or otherwise by the use of a firearm shall have a right of action against any person or entity who caused or contributed to the injury through the negligent entrustment of a firearm. In any such action, the injured person shall have a right to recover actual and punitive damages.
2. In case of the death of the person injured, the action or right of action given by this action shall survive to their executor or adminis-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02030-01-5
trator, and the amount so recovered by either a spouse or child shall be their sole and separate property.
3. Actions as described in subdivision one or two of this section may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction.
4. In any case where parents shall be entitled to such damages, either parent may sue alone therefor, but recovery by one of such parties shall be a bar to suit brought by the other.
5. As used in this section, "negligent entrustment" means the supplying of a firearm by a seller for use by another person when the seller knows, or reasonably should know, the person to whom the product is supplied is likely to, and does, use the product in a manner involving unreasonable risk of physical injury to the person or others.
6. For the purposes of this section, the distribution of an automatic or semi-automatic firearm not typically used for lawful hunting purposes, including but not limited to handguns and assault weapons, to the public, including those with a permit to possess a firearm, involves an unreasonable risk of physical injury to others.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all claims arising on or after such effective date and to all claims pending on such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the general obligations law, in relation to providing for compensation for injury or death caused by the negligent entrustment of a firearm
Purpose
To extend the negligent entrustment liability of firearm manufacturers and sellers to the maximum extent allowable under federal law.
Summary of provisions
Section one of the bill establishes the legislative intent. Section two amends the general obligations law by adding a new section creating a statutory right of action for negligent entrustment of a firearm. As used in this new law, negligent entrustment means the supplying of a firearm by a seller for use by another person when the seller knows, or reasonably should know, the person to whom the product is supplied is likely to, and does, use the product in a manner involving unreasonable risk of physical injury to the person or others.
Read the full memo (666 words)
Justification
In 2016, almost 1,000 people were shot in New York City. New York State law enforcement agencies recovered 52,915 illegally trafficked firearms between 2010 and 2015, with 7,827 guns recovered in 2015 alone, most of those collected being handguns. 18,361 of these guns come from the "Iron Pipeline" states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Ohio. It is time that the corporations that enable this illegal gun trafficking and violence on our streets be held to accountable.
Gun manufacturers and sellers are pushing dangerous, military-style weapons onto our streets by irresponsibly marketing and distributing weapons designed to kill to civilians with no training. Criminals can buy assault weapons in states with lax gun control laws and bring them into New York to harm our citizens, but the victims of the "Iron Pipe- line" have no recourse in our courts against the companies that make gun trafficking possible.
The federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, 109 P.L. 92, 119 Stat. 2095, bars almost all civil actions or proceedings against manufacturers and sellers of firearms, but it provides an exemption for actions brought for negligent entrustment. Negligent entrustment under the act "means the supplying of a firearm by a seller for use, by anoth- er person when the ,seller knows, or reasonably should the person to whom the product is supplied is likely to, and does, use the product in a manner involving unreasonable risk of physical injury to the person or others."
In Hamilton v. Beretta U.S.A Corp., 96 N.Y.2d 222 (2001), the New York Court of Appeals ruled that gun manufacturers did not have a duty to exercise reasonable care in the marketing and distribution of the hand- guns they manufacture. Id. at 230-31. The Court held that for a plain- tiff to succeed on a negligent entrustment claim against a manufacturer whose guns ended up in the black market, the plaintiff has to show that the manufacturer sold guns to a distributor the manufacturer knew or had reason to know was "engaging in substantial sales of guns into the gun- trafficking market on a consistent basis." Id. at 237. The Court held that for a claim of negligent entrustment to succeed, the supplier of a chattel must have or should have "knowledge concerning the entrustee's propensity to use the chattel in an improper or dangerous fashion." Id.
The purpose of this act is to overturn the holding in Hamilton v. Beretta U.S.A. Corp. regarding the tort of negligent entrustment as applied to firearm manufacturers and sellers and to extend the negligent entrustment liability of firearm manufacturers and sellers to the maxi- mum extent allowable under federal law. This policy will allow the victims of gun violence to get their day in court and be compensated for the irreparable harm enabled by gun manufacturers and sellers.
Legislative history
2021-22: Referred to Judiciary 2023-24: Referred to Judiciary
Fiscal implications
Minimal.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all claims arising on or after such effective date and to all claims pending on such effective date.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.