Families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims are arguing that the reckless promotion and marketing of military-style weapons was a contributing factor in the 2012 shooting that devastated a community, according to USA Today. A Connecticut Superior Court Judge will soon rule whether the lawsuit levelled against Remington Arms, manufacturers of shooter Adam Lanza's AR-15, will be able to continue.
Attorney Josh Koskoff argues that Remington should not sell the weapon to civilians at all, given that it is made for military use and "is built for mass casualty assaults" and to deliver "more wounds, of greater severity, in more victims, in less time," according to the Hartford Courant. Koskoff aims to prove that the highly militaristic style and and marketing method of Remington weapons constitutes "negligent entrustment," a legal term that refers to allowing someone to use something despite the likelihood that they will use it to do harm, according to the New York Daily News.
The lawsuit was filed in December 2014 by nine of the families involved and one school administrator but has shifted between federal and state court as gun manufacturers have attempted to challenge it, according to NPR. If successful, the lawsuit will constitute an exception to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PCLAA), which was passed by Congress in 2005 to protect firearms manufacturers from lawsuits and has been notoriously difficult to challenge over the years.
"We did our homework on the weapon. It will be clear to anybody who hears the history of this weapon that it was designed specifically for the military and selling it to civilians is reckless," Koskoff told reporters this week. "The tragedy that occurred at Sandy Hook is exactly what it was designed for - to kill people during an assault."
A ruling is not expected for a few months, but providing it is not dismissed, Koskoff believes that the lawsuit will shed some light on "the covert world of gun sales."
"These families deserve nothing less than the opportunity to learn what decisions were made and how this weapon was able to infiltrate communities without any accountability," Koskoff said in an interview.
