In what appears to not only violate common sense but congressional law, the Connecticut Supreme Court said Thursday that the victims and families of the Sandy Hook school shooting can move forward with a lawsuit against Remington, the manufacturer of the Bushmaster rifle Adam Lanza used to carry out the massacre. Experts predict that the case will now go before the U.S. Supreme Court, seeing as how the Second Amendment and The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act both hang in the balance of this decision.
Not to mention the fact that, um, this kind of liability could literally end U.S. gun manufacturing and sales overnight.
From the New York Times:
In the lawsuit, the families seized upon the marketing for the AR-15-style Bushmaster used in the 2012 attack, which invoked the violence of combat and used slogans like “Consider your man card reissued.”
Lawyers for the families argued that those messages reflected a deliberate effort to appeal to troubled young men like Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old who charged into the elementary school and killed 26 people, including 20 first graders, in a spray of gunfire.
In the 4-3 ruling, the justices agreed with a lower court judge’s decision to dismiss most of the claims raised by the families, but also found that the sweeping federal protections did not prevent the families from bringing a lawsuit based on wrongful marketing claims. The court ruled that the case can move ahead based on a state law regarding unfair trade practices.
Video captures Detroit student allegedly wielding box cutter in classroom chase as teacher intervenes
Inside ‘MELANIA’: The unprecedented access behind Melania Trump’s first film
Armed carjacker’s wild Corvette rampage turns downtown into war zone; sergeant wounded in deadly shootout
Trump calls for investigation into Ilhan Omar’s wealth, says it should start ‘NOW’
Key takeaways from Jack Smith’s House Judiciary testimony
FBI Arrests Leftist Who Dared Pam Bondi to ‘Come and Get Me’ After Storming Minnesota Church
Republicans narrowly reject efforts to handcuff Trump’s war powers in Venezuela
Klobuchar files for Minnesota governor run after Walz abandons reelection bid
Patel reveals bizarre ‘self-awarded’ trophy former FBI officials made to celebrate Trump probe
NYT: Murder Rate Hits 125-Year Low in Trump’s First Year Back in Office — Biggest Single-Year Drop Ever
Jack Smith dodges questions on Cassidy Hutchinson witness credibility
Paris Hilton teams up with AOC to push House to pass stalled AI deepfake porn bill
Top AZ county lawyer fired after dad accuses him of filming 12-year-old at store, performing sex act in car
Anti-abortion groups keep pressure on White House after March for Life olive branch
Mattel’s Autistic Barbie – Fidget Spinner and All – Draws Fire from Critics as Fans Rave: ‘So Cool and So Beautiful’
It’s hard to see how Remington could be held liable for “wrongful marketing” unless they were specifically advertising a weapon that could feasibly be used to shoot up a kindergarten. Or making some kind of “Hey, weirdo, this gun is perfect for taking your revenge out on an unloving and hateful world!” We’re pretty sure Remington did not engage in marketing of that sort, and so it is ridiculous to claim that they bear any responsibility whatsoever for what Lanza did on that fateful day in 2012.
It is impossible not to feel ongoing sympathy for the families who survived this terrible tragedy, and we don’t even have any particular ill will towards them for trying to seek redress wherever they can find it. Tragedy and logic rarely go hand in hand.
But that doesn’t change the fact that this sort of liability is outlandish, nonsensical, and in direct conflict with the Second Amendment. Not to mention, it opens the door wide open for manufacturers of knives, cars, pressure cookers, and any number of products to be sued for liability. Let’s hope the Supreme Court strikes this down, because it opens up a can of worms that could literally devastate American industry, to say nothing of our rights.
