The following is the statement from Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy following the House's passage of S. 397, a bill granting the gun industry unprecedented immunity from lawsuits stemming from its negligence and incompetence:

"Over the past decade there have been more than 10 million wrongful death lawsuits filed in the United States. A mere 57 lawsuits involved the gun industry. In the same amount of time these lawsuits were filed, approximately 300,000 Americans died as a result of gun violence.

"Proponents of S. 397 say these 57 lawsuits are bankrupting the gun industry. However, despite a tough economy, the gun industry is in fine financial condition. Smith & Wesson has already reported a 5 percent increase in profits for this year. The real financial threat to our economy is the $100 billion that gun violence costs our health care system each year. In fact, each gun death in this country costs America over $1 million in health care costs, police investigative costs and lost productivity.

"So, today, Congress has put aside all the important work it needs to finish before adjourning for the year to fix a problem that doesn't exist. This bill does nothing to protect honest and lawful gun dealers who inadvertently sell guns that are later used in a crime. These dealers are already protected from lawsuits. This bill only serves to close the courthouse doors to people legitimately injured by gun industry negligence.

"The Rules Committee rejected my amendment to make the lawsuit ban contingent on 90 percent of felony convictions and other disqualifying criteria being entered into the National Instant Background Check System [NICS], the database used to conduct criminal background checks on gun buyers.

"Currently, 25 states have entered less than 60 percent of their felony convictions into NICS. Thirteen states do not enter any information on restraining orders stemming from incidents of domestic violence. And of course individuals on federal terrorist watch lists are not required to be entered into the NICS database.

"The Committee also rejected my amendment to ban all armor piercing ammunition or 'cop killer' bullets. These bullets can penetrate most bulletproof vests and put our police officers' lives in danger.

"Instead of helping corrupt and incompetent gun makers and dealers avoid liability claims, Congress should be passing common sense legislation that will better enforce existing gun laws."