Executives from large American gun companies appeared before a House committee on Wednesday, facing aggressive questioning from lawmakers about their organizations’ responsibility for recent devastating mass shootings in the US.
The hearing marked the first time in nearly two decades that the CEOs of leading gun manufacturers testified before Congress and comes after a wave of deadly attacks including at a Fourth of July parade in Illinois, a school in Texas and the racist massacre of Black shoppers at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
The witnesses included Christopher Killoy, president and CEO of Sturm, Ruger & Company, and Marty Daniel, CEO of Daniel Defense. Mark Smith, president and CEO of Smith & Wesson Brands, had been invited to appear but refused to do so.
“Mr Smith promised he would testify, but then he went back on his word, perhaps because he did not want to take responsibility for the death and destruction his company has caused,” said Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the House oversight committee.
Maloney announced that she would soon subpoena documents from Smith & Wesson’s CEO and other top executives to discover more about the gun industry’s business practices. According to a committee investigation, Smith & Wesson brought in more than $125m last year from the sale of assault weapons, which have been used in many mass shootings. In total, five gun manufacturers collected more than $1bn from the sale of assault rifles over the last decade, the investigation found.
“The time for dodging accountability is over,” Maloney said.
At the start of the hearing, the committee played a video of testimonials from families who had been affected by recent mass shootings, including the massacre at Robb elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and the white supremacist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
Tracey Maciulewicz, who lost her fiance Andre Mackniel in the Buffalo shooting, tearfully pleaded with the gun companies to enact change in the face of so many families’ devastation.
“What are you going to do to make sure that your products don’t get into the hands of a white supremacist mass shooter ever again, who will take a child’s father away?” Maciulewicz asked in the video.
Rather than outlining corporate changes to prevent future tragedies like Buffalo, the gun company executives deflected responsibility for mass shootings, instead blaming individual bad actors and policy failures to prevent violent crime.
“These acts are committed by murderers,” said Daniel, whose company sold the assault weapon used in the Uvalde shooting. “The murderers are responsible.”
Killoy, the CEO of the largest manufacturer of rifles in the US, similarly argued it was wrong to blame the “inanimate object” of a firearm for deaths caused by gun violence.
“We firmly believe that it is wrong to deprive citizens of their constitutional right to purchase a lawful firearm they desire because of the criminal acts of wicked people,” Killoy said. “A firearm, any firearm, can be used for good or for evil. The difference is in the intent of the individual possessing it, which we respectfully submit, should be the focus of any investigation into the root causes of criminal violence involving firearms.”
Republicans on the committee echoed the executives’ argument, accusing Democrats of demonizing gun manufacturers while promoting “soft on crime” policies.
“It’s absolutely disgusting to me and unthinkable, the height of irresponsibility and lack of accountability,” said Jody Hice, a Republican of Georgia. “My colleagues seem to forget that the American people have a right to own guns.”
At one point, two committee members got into a heated exchange, as the Republican Clay Higgins accused Democrats of leaving average Americans more vulnerable to gun violence by pushing restrictions to firearm access.
Higgins argued that law-abiding Americans would be more likely to get injured in a shooting if they were not armed as well, saying, “My colleagues in the Democratic party, when those gun fights happen, that blood will be on your hands.”
The Democrat Gerry Connolly fiercely rejected that charge, telling Higgins, “We will not be threatened with violence and bloodshed because we want reasonable gun control.”
The committee hearing came as House Democrats attempt to pass additional gun-control legislation, including a ban on assault weapons. A House committee advanced the assault weapons ban last week, but it remains unclear whether the full chamber will approve the proposal.
Several House Democrats have indicated they do not support the ban, and the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, can afford to lose only four votes if every Republican opposes the bill. The House Democratic caucus chair, Hakeem Jeffries, expressed confidence that the ban would ultimately pass, although it does not appear the bill will come up for a vote this week.
“I expect that, if the assault weapons ban hits the floor, that it will pass, and I personally and strongly support it,” Jeffries said Wednesday.
Joe Biden has already signed one gun-control bill last month, in the wake of the tragedies in Uvalde and Buffalo. But many Democrats argued that the compromise bill, which expanded background checks for the youngest firearm buyers and provided more funding for mental health resources, did not go far enough to address gun violence.
In addition to the assault weapons ban, House Democrats are considering a bill to strip gun manufacturers of civil liability protections. At the Wednesday hearing, Maloney indicated she would soon introduce more bills to regulate firearm manufacturers, saying lawmakers have a responsibility to the many families who have lost loved ones to gun violence.
“Since it’s clear that the gun industry won’t protect Americans, Congress must act,” Maloney said in her closing statement. “This is a fight we must and will win.”
