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Now that the second anniversary of the horrific tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School has arrived, numerous families of those killed or injured have filed a lawsuit against the gun manufacturer of one of the weapons used by the shooter in the incident.
Included in the lawsuit were nine families of victims and one survivor of the shooting. According to legal documents, Bushmaster Firearms International whose parent company is Remington Outdoor Co. is responsible for distributing the Bushmaster weapon used, is being sued. Along with this, Riverview Gun Sales is being sued, which is the gun shop that sold the rifle to the shooter’s mother, Nancy Lanza.
As most remember, on December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza not only shot and killed his own mother with a Bushmaster XM15-E2S but also 20 children who attended Sandy Hook Elementary School and six members of the school’s staff.
As reported, the case against Bushmaster will go before the
Superior Court in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with families claiming the high-powered weapon should never have been sold to someone like Nancy Lanza because it is not intended for civilian use.
As stated by Joshua Koskoff, attorney representing the families, there is a tremendous amount of evidence showing that civilians are unable to control weapons like the one used and that entrusting an ordinary person with it is irresponsible. He added that he was concerned there would be more massacres unless something was changed.
As expected, Remington does not claim any liability in the case. Remington, which is in the process of building a new manufacturing facility in Huntsville, has said all along that the firearm is not the reason for the actions taken by Lanza.
According to George Killitide, CEO of Freedom Group that owns Bushmaster, blaming an inanimate object is easy but as with any type of instrument, if it ends up in the wrong hands bad things can happen. This is nothing more than intent that includes responsibility, accountability, and criminal behavior. Nancy Lanza taught her son how to shoot the gun and provided him with access to the save in which all her weapons were kept.
Killitide continued by saying that Adam Lanza killed the owner of the gun, his mother, and after taking the weapon he then stole her car, drove to Sandy Hook, and then murdered innocent children. The guns Adam obtained were done so illegally and because of that, no background checks on behalf of Bushmaster would have mattered.
Following the Sandy Hook shooting, stricter gun control laws have been passed in the state of New York, which is why Remington moved to Alabama. In general, gun makers are protected from lawsuits under the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce Arms Act.
However, for the families of Sandy Hook victims, there is an exception because the defendants should be liable for entrusting a weapon to another party that then caused a third party to be harmed or killed.
