{"id":18587,"date":"2019-11-13T03:29:15","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T03:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=18587"},"modified":"2019-11-14T12:06:28","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T12:06:28","slug":"firearm-makers-may-finally-decide-its-in-their-interest-to-help-reduce-gun-violence-after-sandy-hook-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/firearm-makers-may-finally-decide-its-in-their-interest-to-help-reduce-gun-violence-after-sandy-hook-ruling\/","title":{"rendered":"Firearm-makers may finally decide it’s in their interest to help reduce gun violence after Sandy Hook ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Timothy D. Lytton<\/a>, Georgia State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Mass shootings have become a routine occurrence<\/a> in America.<\/p>\n

Gun-makers have long refused to take responsibility for their role in this epidemic. That may be about to change.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 12 refused to block<\/a> a lawsuit filed by the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting victims, clearing the way for the litigation to proceed. Remington Arms, which manufactured and sold the semiautomatic rifle used in the attack, had hoped the broad immunity the industry has enjoyed for years<\/a> would shield it from any liability.<\/p>\n

The prospect of more claims from victims of mass shootings puts new pressure on the gun industry to reconsider the way it does business.<\/p>\n

My research over the past 20 years<\/a> on lawsuits against the gun industry examines how the threat of civil liability has the potential to promote safer gun designs, encourage more responsible marketing practice and reduce the risk of illegal retail sales.<\/p>\n

The end of immunity<\/h2>\n

A 2006 law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act<\/a> grants gun manufacturers broad immunity from civil lawsuits that arise out of the criminal misuse of a weapon.<\/p>\n

However, this immunity does not apply where a manufacturer \u201cknowingly violated a state or federal statute applicable to the sale or marketing\u201d of a firearm.<\/p>\n

The Sandy Hook families allege<\/a> that Remington, by marketing certain guns to civilians, engaged in \u201cunethical\u201d business methods in violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act<\/a>. Specifically, they argued Remington \u201cmarketed, advertised and promoted the Bushmaster XM15-E2S for civilians to use to carry out offensive, military-style combat missions against their perceived enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remington asked the court to throw out the lawsuit based on the federal immunity statute, but the Connecticut Supreme Court held that a violation of the state\u2019s unfair trade practices law qualifies<\/a> as an exception to the industry\u2019s liability shield.<\/p>\n

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear<\/a> Remington\u2019s appeal, the case will move into discovery and, potentially, trial in a Connecticut state court.<\/p>\n

Since many states<\/a> have unfair trade practices laws like Connecticut\u2019s, gun violence victims are likely to bring similar claims elsewhere, effectively ending the gun industry\u2019s federal immunity from civil lawsuits.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The father of one of the children killed at Sandy Hook speaks outside the Connecticut Supreme Court.<\/span>
\nAP Photo\/Dave Collins<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reducing gun violence<\/h2>\n

In other industries, the threat of civil liability has encouraged manufacturers to take steps in design, marketing and retail to reduce the risk of injuries associated with their products. Lawsuits have prompted automakers to develop safer car designs<\/a>, vaping companies to end marketing aimed at teens<\/a> and opioid manufacturers to take responsibility for oversupplying<\/a> pills to irresponsible retailers.<\/p>\n

Similarly, exposing gun manufacturers to civil liability is likely to encourage them to consider reducing the lethality<\/a> of their civilian weapons. The popularity of semiautomatic firearms increases the risk<\/a> that gun violence incidents will cause multiple gunshot wounds to large numbers of victims. Companies may wish to limit their liability exposure by reducing the firepower of their products.<\/p>\n

Additionally, companies may wish to reconsider marketing campaigns<\/a> that extol the combat characteristics of weapons they sell on the civilian market. Such campaigns are likely to give rise to more lawsuits alleging that such promotional tactics increase the risk that their guns will be the weapon of choice for mass shooters.<\/p>\n

Finally, lawsuits may encourage gun companies to work harder to teach retailers how to spot and prevent illegal straw purchases, in which a person buys a gun for someone else who is legally prohibited from purchasing it. The industry\u2019s trade association \u2013 the National Shooting Sports Council \u2013 has long had a training and certification program<\/a> for retailers to reduce the risk of illegal straw purchases. Beefing up that effort is another way to reduce the industry\u2019s liability exposure.<\/p>\n

None of these actions would weaken the Second Amendment or undermine the commercial viability of the gun industry.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A Sandy Hook mom marches over the Brooklyn Bridge during a rally to end gun violence.<\/span>
\nAP Photo\/Mary Altaffer<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Only the beginning<\/h2>\n

Regardless of whether the Sandy Hook families ultimately prevail, the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s refusal to hear an appeal in the case appears to have blown a giant hole in the gun industry\u2019s immunity from civil litigation.<\/p>\n

However, this may not be the court\u2019s last word on the subject. The justices might have another opportunity to review the case if the Sandy Hook plaintiffs win and the case works its way back up to the high court. The Supreme Court could then decide that the exception to federal immunity applies more narrowly.<\/p>\n

Moreover, there is no guarantee that other state courts will adopt the Connecticut Supreme Court\u2019s interpretation of the immunity exception. Federal courts in New York<\/a> and California<\/a> have rejected similar lawsuits. Also, unfair trade practices laws in other states frequently limit lawsuits to product consumers, excluding claims by others injured by the products.<\/p>\n

In addition, gun violence victims face other challenges in winning their claims. They must convince judges and juries that routine industry marketing strategies constitute unfair trade practices and prove that those practices played a role in enabling criminal attacks. Prior to passage of federal immunity, no plaintiff ever won<\/a> a lawsuit against a gun manufacturer for an injury arising out of criminal misuse of a weapon.<\/p>\n

Finally, litigation is not a panacea. Stemming the epidemic of gun violence in the U.S. will require a concerted effort by industry, government and organized citizen groups across the political spectrum.<\/p>\n

Lawsuits can help jump-start this process, but they are only the beginning.<\/p>\n

[ Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation\u2019s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today\u2019s news, every day.<\/a><\/em> ]\"The<\/p>\n

Timothy D. Lytton<\/a>, Distinguished University Professor & Professor of Law, Georgia State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Timothy D. Lytton, Georgia State University Mass shootings have become a routine occurrence in America. Gun-makers have long refused to take responsibility for their role in this epidemic. That may be about to change. The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 12 refused to block a lawsuit filed by the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":18583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[277],"tags":[7239,3322,4982,2174,4038,372,840,13,5412,4052,708,2176,4041,1666],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18587"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18587"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18590,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18587\/revisions\/18590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}