The Impact of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005 on Gun Sales

The purpose of the present study is to determine if the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) of 2005 had a statistically significant effect on gun sales. Using a two-way fixed effects model with state-level annual data for the period 1999-2016, results of the present study suggest that the PLCAA had a significant and positive impact on overall gun sales as measured by background checks. However, this act had no statistically significant effects on long gun (rifle and shotgun) sales. These results suggest that this federal law limiting gun manufacturers’ liability greatly increased handgun sales but had minimal effects on long gun sales. This result suggests that the PLCAA contributed to an increase in the supply of handguns. Since the majority of firearm homicides and suicides are committed using handguns, it is reasonable to assume that this increase in handguns may have resulted in an increase in firearm homicides and suicides.