Gun Control Debate: Families of Newtown, Connecticut Shooting Victims Sue Maker, Distributor and Store Selling AR-15 Rifle
The families of some of the Sandy Hook massacre victims, which took place in Newtown, Connecticut two years ago, are seeking an unspecified monetary recompense for what happened to their loved ones.
The families of nine victims, including one person wounded during the ordeal, filed a lawsuit against Bushmaster, maker of the AR-15 assault rifle, according to Reuters. Adam Lanza used the AR-15 when he killed 26 people, including 20 children, at the Connecticut elementary school.
The 40-page lawsuit hopes to circumvent the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which protects gun manufacturers from liability lawsuits. Thus, the group filed a much broader case against Bushmaster and other related defendants.
"This is a weapon that is designed for military use, for killing as many people as efficiently as possible," Michael Koskoff, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told Reuters on the phone. "It's negligent for any seller to sell a weapon like that to the general public."
The Washington Post reports the other defendants are Camfour, a gun distributor, and Riverview Sales, the gun shop where the AR-15 was purchased.
Referring to the Bushmaster assault rifle as a "military weapon," the plaintiffs accuse the defendants of selling a deadly weapon to the civilian populace, which meant "individuals unfit to operate these weapons gain access to them."
"In order to continue profiting from the sale of AR-15s, defendants chose to disregard the unreasonable risks the rifle posed outside of specialized, highly regulated institutions like the armed forces and law enforcement," the lawsuit reads. "Plaintiffs seek nothing more and nothing less than accountability for the consequences of that choice."
In a press conference, the plaintiffs appeared alongside Democratic Connecticut U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, reports the Hartford Courant. In the press conference, the group called for greater advocacy on the gun control front.
Despite the losses at the federal level concerning some gun control reform, like enacting universal background checks and closing loop holes, Sen. Blumenthal remains optimistic.
"We will redouble our efforts,'' he said. "We will continue to fight tirelessly and relentlessly to stop gun violence through common-sense measures in the Congress. ... This effort is not to take away anyone's gun rights. The Second Amendment is the law of the land.''
"I don't think that Congress can continue to stand by, with any sense of conscience, and do nothing,'' Sen. Murphy added. "Congress has become complicit in these murders by our silence.''
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