In a recent ruling, the Connecticut Supreme Court announced the families of the Sandy Hook Victims can sue Remington Arms — the gun manufacturer responsible for the AR-15 rifle that was used in the 2012 elementary school massacre.

Why this ruling is important

It could upend the gun industry because it provides a legal avenue for lawsuits to be filed against other gun manufacturers in the United States. Gun companies are rarely held accountable for crimes committed with their firearms because they are protected by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act — a 2005 law that absolves them
from civil liability in lawsuits brought by victims of gun violence.

“What I’m looking to find out in this whole process, essentially, is what went on inside Remington,” said Bill Sherlach, whose wife Mary was shot and killed at Sandy Hook. “Let’s see the internal documents, the internal emails, as to what the charges were to their marketing and ad execs.”

Ian Hockley, who lost his 6-year old son in the senseless tragedy isn’t thrilled about the ruling. “I wish it was never here,” he said. “But what we’ve said from the outset is all we want is our day in court, for the law to be upheld and for a jury to decide our case.”

” [Connecticut law] does not permit advertisements that promote or encourage violent, criminal behavior,” the court wrote in the majority opinion. While federal law does offer protection for gun manufacturers, “Congress did not intend to immunize firearms suppliers who engage in truly unethical and irresponsible marketing practices promoting criminal conduct, and given that statutes such as CUTPA are the only means available to address those types of wrongs, it falls to a jury to decide whether the promotional schemes alleged in the present case rise to the level of illegal trade practices and whether fault for the tragedy can be laid at their feet.”

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