ANNAPOLIS, Md. — With a party line vote in the Senate, Maryland is getting closer to approving lawsuits against members of the gun industry.
Senator Jeff Waldstreicher has been pushing for the legislation to pass for three years.
"It's important because holding the gun industry accountable will make us safer. The gun industry is the only industry without any accountability in our state and in the country," said Senator Waldstreicher, a Democrat from Montgomery County.
The bill would give the attorney general authority to open these lawsuits against firearm makers across the country.
To do so, they'd have to be contributing to what the bill describes as a public nuisance.
"The attorney general would bring suit against bad actors in Maryland state court. It's worked extremely well in the other eight states that have passed this," said Sen. Waldstreicher.
Opponents to the bill say it's unconstitutional.
There were also questions about the bill being too broad during the hearing.
"Legislating is an iterative process and we've altered the bill to address some of the concerns that we heard in the committee," said Sen. Waldstreicher.
The Senate pulled out a piece that would've allowed victims of gun violence to sue members of the firearm industry.
Now, those lawsuits will have to come from the attorney general.
It now heads to the House to see if it will make it to the governor's desk.
