Parkland parents hopeful
Supreme Court decision allowing families to sue weapon maker greeted with enthusiasm
Stoneman Douglas parents have welcomed this week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that cleared the way for Sandy Hook families to sue the manufacturer of the weapon used to murder their children.
The nation’s high court, without explanation, rejected an appeal from the gun industry intended to block a lawsuit from the Sandy Hook families.
Sandy Hook Elementary School was the scene of one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent history — Adam Lanza, then 20, shot and killed 20 children and six adults at the school in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14, 2012 before killing himself.
The families of nine victims killed by Lanza, who was armed with a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle made by Remington, filed suit against the company, and the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision in March to allow the suit to go forward.
The decision overcame a federal law backed by the National Rifle Association that was designed to immunize gun-makers
Fred Guttenberg, right, hugs Max Schachter after a news conference with family members of the Parkland shooting victims in 2018.
from liability for the crimes committed with their weapons.
When the U.S. Supreme Court decided on Tuesday to allow the Connecticut ruling to stand, it may have strengthened a pending lawsuit brought by Max Schachter and Fred and Jennifer Guttenberg, parents who lost their teenage children in last year’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Last year, Schachter and the Guttenbergs announced a lawsuit against Sunrise Tactical Supply, which sold an AR-15-style rifle to shooter Nikolas Cruz, and American Outdoor Brands, the company formerly known as Smith & Wesson, which manufactured the weapon. Cruz used the rifle to kill 17
father of Jaime Guttenberg, who was killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Fred Guttenberg, people at Stoneman Douglas and injure 17 more. Among the dead were Jaime Guttenberg and Alex Schachter.
The Sandy Hook decision does not directly affect the Florida lawsuit, but Fred Guttenberg, Jaime’s father, applauded it anyway. “Now we have the ability as victims of gun violence to go forward to hold the manufacturers accountable,” he said. “Today’s decision gives
me some encouragement.”
Efforts to reach attorneys for the defendants Wednesday were not successful.
In court papers, they have tried to get the case dismissed on multiple grounds. As originally filed, the 2018 lawsuit asked for a judge to decide whether it could even proceed. A 2001 Florida law appeared to grant manufacturers and sellers of legal weapons immunity from such lawsuits.
The original Connecticut decision was similar, limiting liability for gun-makers based on how they advertise their firearms, rather than on the sale to third parties who go on to commit crimes. In its ruling, the Connecticut court (upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court) said companies that market military-style guns to civilians as a way of killing enemies could be violating state fair trade laws.
The GuttenbergSchachter
lawsuit, at the moment, asks a judge only to determine that the defendants can be sued, and the federal ruling may provide a way for such a lawsuit to proceed.
“They had consequences Fred said.
Max Schachter declined to comment, referring questions to his attorney, who did not return calls for comment Wednesday. to know the of their positions,” Guttenberg
Information from the Washington Post was used in this report.
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