Gunmaker Remington Arms agreed to pay $73 million to nine families who lost loved ones in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Connecticut.
The shooter, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, killed 20 kids and six school staff members with Remington’s Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle.
But what about the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), otherwise known as the Child Safety Lock Act? The PLCAA is pretty clear when it comes to suing gunmakers. You can’t sue a gun manufacturer because one of their guns was used in a crime. But read #3 closely (I’ve emphasized it):
Prohibits in any Federal or State court a civil liability action brought by any person against a manufacturer or seller of a qualified product (firearm or ammunition), or a trade association, for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of such product by the person or a third party. Requires immediate dismissal of any such action pending on the date of enactment of this Act. Excludes from such prohibition (thus allows) any action: (1) brought against a transferor convicted under Federal or State law by a party directly harmed by the conduct of which the transferee is so convicted; (2) brought against a seller for negligent entrustment or negligence per se; (3) where a manufacturer or seller of a qualified product knowingly and willfully violated a State or Federal statute applicable to the sale or marketing of the product, and the violation was a proximate cause of the harm for which relief is sought; (4) for breach of contract or warranty in connection with the purchase of the product; or (5) for physical injuries or property damage resulting directly from a defect in design or manufacture of the product, when used as intended.
Lawyers for the families focused on the marketing of the gun used in the shooting. They argued that Remington used images and marketing phrasing such as “Control Your Destiny” and “Bravery on Duty” that hinted at military imagery, which is illegal in Connecticut, and thus is partly responsible for Lanza’s carnage. You can see examples of Bushmaster marketing here.
Is that enough to sue Remington? Logically, no it’s not. We don’t even know if Lanza, or his mother who bought the gun from a Connecticut gunshop, saw the ads. Remington was expected to win this lawsuit. However, emotions understandably run high when 20 elementary school kids have been murdered.
“When the Sandy Hook families came to see us, it was about nine years ago, and it was in the aftermath of shattering loss, and they were stunned, and they didn’t know what to do or where to go,” Joshua Koskoff, attorney for the families, stated in a press conference. “But they had the energy and drive and motivation to do one thing, and that was to do whatever they could so that other families would not have to go through the kind of pain and loss that they had.”
The last line is telling. The attorney makes it clear he is not merely looking for a financial settlement– he wants Remington, the nation’s oldest gunmaker, to go away.
FACT-O-RAMA! Remington Arms filed for bankruptcy for the second time in 2020.
Remington offered a $33 million payout but later agreed to the $73 million. Remington also allowed the families to release Remington’s gun marketing strategies.
Remington has sold off some of its other firearm-related companies. JPMorgan, a Remington creditor, has taken over a piece of the pie as well.
The families requested JPMorgan not get in the way of the lawsuit.
“We call on JPMorgan and other corporate owners to do the right thing,” stated Mark Barden, whose son Daniel was killed in the tragedy. “Leave our case intact so that we can shed light on Remington’s reckless decisions to help ensure that your family doesn’t have to endure the never-ending heartache of losing your child to preventable gun violence.”
Was the Sandy Hook shooting “preventable”? Probably not. Lanza was described as “fidgety” and a “deeply troubled” person. He was also obsessed with mass shootings. Police found books and articles about mass shootings in his home. He supposedly hadn’t left his room in three months. He and his mother, whom he killed on the same day as the Sandy Hook shootings, lived in the same house but only communicated via email. He was somewhat bullied in school. He was also diagnosed with Asperger’s. Lanza’s mom refused the recommendations of Yale psychologists for rigorous treatment and medication for Adam.
An FBI behavioral analysis unit wrote this about Lanza:
The shooter did not ‘snap,’ but instead engaged in careful, methodical planning and preparation. The shooter was fascinated with past shootings and researched them thoroughly. The shooter shared many similar characteristics and behaviors with other active shooters.
The FBI also uncovered evidence that Lanza was a pedophile. Did he kill kids because of his sexual desire for them? Georgia spa shooter Robert Aaron Long claimed he shot six prostitutes to eliminate outlets for his sexual addiction.
Related: ‘Gun Violence’ Isn’t Going Away. It’s all Part of the Plan
Was Remington’s marketing even a factor in the shooting? It seems highly unlikely. Lanza didn’t buy the gun; his mother, a gun enthusiast, purchased it. If Lanza had kicked the kids to death wearing a pair of Nikes could the families sue Nike for the slogan “Just Do It”? There is no indication that Lanza had seen any of the Bushmaster marketing, much less been compelled by it to shoot 26 people. According to the FBI, Lanza created a spreadsheet that documented hundreds of spree killings and mass shootings.
It’s hard to look at families who just lost a first-grade child in a mass shooting and not feel sympathy. People facing this kind of tragedy often look for reasons behind it or at least someone or something to blame. That “thing” is not magazine ads for the Bushmaster rifle. Nor is it the gunmakers. That “thing” was Adam Lanza.
Until liberals want to look at the real reason shootings like this happen, we can expect to see more lawsuits against gunmakers. Liberals hate guns, and now they see a way to make gun companies suffer, if not dissolve and go away, and a way to make a lot of money while doing it.
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