Are Democrats being unfair to AR-15s?

Democrats in the Colorado legislature want to make gun dealers and manufacturers of what we’ve come to call assault rifles, liable for deaths and injuries caused by guns like the AR-15.

Which sounds like they’d be deliberately targeting a legal product for special punishment. But here’s the shocking thing — CBS Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen says historically, gun dealers and manufacturers used to get sued all the time, until 2005. That’s when Congress awarded the arms industry special immunity.

“The Congress passed a federal law that gives gun dealers and gun manufacturers special protection from the source of negligence case that other corporations in other industries get.”

What this means is that a rogue gun dealer could sell an AR-15 to someone who is hallucinating and speaking in tongues and no matter what happens, the dealer is immune to a lawsuit.

“Before the federal law came into effect, those sorts of questions would be decided on a case by case basis. Some judges would say, ‘You know what, we’re going to allow this case to go to trial.’ Some judges would say ‘no we’re not going to allow it.’ What the federal law did was say none of these cases can ever go to trial no matter how egregious the negligence may be,” said Cohen.

I ask him if there is anything in the second amendment that says that must be the case?

According to Cohen: No.

Which means if the Colorado bill passes — expect to see it in the Supreme Court.