“There's no question the weight of the legal fees is an enormous burden. This is not a wealthy industry,” said Bradley Beckman, an attorney for North American Arms, a Provo-based maker of handguns, which has been named in municipal lawsuits filed in California, New York and New Jersey. The company said it has prevailed in each case.

“North American has a number of employees who have been working for that manufacturer for 20-odd years. What about them? What if one of these cases goes the wrong way? 'Here's the keys. I'm done.' ” Beckman said after a hearing before a House Judiciary Subcommittee chaired by Utah Rep. Chris Cannon.

The House plans to move once again on legislation that would protect gun manufacturers from lawsuits.

Representatives passed a similar bill last year, but it was defeated in the Senate after Democrats and moderate Republicans tacked on a measure requiring background checks at gun shows and extending a ban on assault weapons.

With seven new Republicans in the Senate this year, the bill's sponsor, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, says he thinks he has the votes to push it through. A vote could come shortly after the Easter recess, Craig told The Associated Press.

Utah has a law on the books, passed during the 2000 session, preventing gun makers from being sued in state courts, but it does not stop lawsuits against Utah gun makers filed in other jurisdictions.

Cannon said the lawsuits against the gun manufacturers are seeking to bankrupt the industry and impose “stringent limits on the sale and distribution of firearms.”

“Such a state lawsuit in a single county could destroy a national industry and deny citizens everywhere the right to keep and bear arms guaranteed in the Constitution,” Cannon said.

Cannon also warned against a slippery slope, where other makers of legally manufactured products could be sued if the items are misused.

But Dennis Henigan of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said that “this bill is nothing but a special interest giveaway to the gun lobby and a shameful attack on the legal rights of innocent victims of gun violence.”

Beckman disagreed, arguing the bill doesn't offer blanket immunity, and if a weapon is defective or a retailer unlawfully sells a gun used in a crime, those lawsuits could still go forward.

“The fact that it might not be the most popular product, well that's not what this is about. It's not a popularity contest. Firearms are part of the fabric of the country, and people may not like that,” but that can be changed through legislation, Beckman said.

“However, these lawsuits ought not ever again be permitted. The staggering sums that all of these companies had to pay for their lawyers is unbelievable.”

In the previous Congress, all five members of Utah's delegation co-sponsored the bill, including Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson. So far, only Cannon has signed on as a co-sponsor this year.