A lawsuit can go forward against the maker of the rifle used in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, a judge ruled Thursday.
Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis said that a 2005 federal law protecting gun-makers from lawsuits does not prevent lawyers for the victims’ families from arguing that the semi-automatic rifle is a military weapon and should not have been sold to civilians.
Lanza, 20, killed 20 first-grade students and six educators on Dec. 14, 2012 with a Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle that his mother had bought legally. Lanza killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, at their Newtown home with a different gun before going to the school a few miles away, and then killed himself as police arrived.
The families of nine children and adults killed at the Newtown school and a teacher who survived the attack are suing Remington Arms, the parent company of Bushmaster Firearms, which made the weapon used in the school shooting.
Lawyers for Remington Arms sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the federal law shields gun manufacturers from most lawsuits over criminal use of their products. They said Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act after determining such lawsuits were an abuse of the legal system.
Judge Bellis ruled Thursday that argument would be best made in a motion later in the process and is not grounds to dismiss the lawsuit.
Lawyers for Remington did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
Joshua Koskoff, a lawyer for the families, argues there is an exception in the federal law that allows litigation against companies that know, or should know, that their weapons are likely to be used in a way that risks injury to others.
“We are thrilled that the gun companies’ motion to dismiss was denied,” he said. “The families look forward to continuing their fight in court.”
Debate over the 2005 law has resurfaced in this year’s presidential campaign. Hillary Clinton has criticized fellow Democrat Bernie Sanders’ for supporting it when it was passed.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
If you ,or a family member has issues, get rid of your guns. To blame others for your lack of action, its on you, and anyone that knows you have guns. The police should have went guns blazing, instead of waiting, and waiting, for 15 minutes before going in. The cops failed these children and teachers. Now the cops arriving first on scene, gotta go in “ASAP”.
If this lawsuit is successful, this would open the door to legal action being taken against the Obama administration for the dissemination of guns during Fast And Furious… as well as all of the weapons the government “accidentally” allowed to fall into the hands of radical Islamist’s.The courts cannot have it both ways….
These people need to come out from the rock they are living under and see if they can find some brains, since what they are trying to do is a wast of everybodys time, this case is lost before it’s started. Sandy Hook was A Hoax, some of the kids that were supposed to be killed were seen a life on several occasions, if u think I’m wrong why did the government shut the school down and wouldn’t let anyone see the inside where all these killings were suppose to have took place, and when suspensions arose they tore the school down, what were they hiding?
This whole damn thing was and is all about gun control and nothing else and that will never happen, the second amendment can not and will not be infringed upon, wake up people.