Parents want to change gun maker immunity law

The father of a teenager killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting said Thursday that victims of gun violence should be allowed to hold gun manufacturers accountable in court.

“We’re going to change history,” said Fred Guttenberg, one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against the maker and seller of the Smith & Wesson 15 used by Nikolas Cruz in the Feb. 14 shooting.

Guttenberg’s daughter, Jaime, was one of the 17 killed. He and Max Schachter, father of victim Alex Schachter, want a judge to pave the way for them to seek damages against American Outdoor Brands and Sunrise Tactical Supply.

A state law bars lawsuits gun manufacturers in cases where there is no defect with the weapon. Miami attorneys Stephen Rosenthal and Steven Marks, representing the Guttenberg family, and Julie Braman Kane, representing the Schachters, said at a news conference Thursday that they want a judge to declare that the law prohibits only government entities from filing such lawsuits, not the victims of gun viWednesday olence.

Under the law, the gun manufacturers would be able to collect attorney’s fees, legal costs and lost income from any such suits.

“The reason you have not seen suits against gun manufacturers in the state before, since this law was passed [in 2001] is the ‘sword of Damocles’ hangagainst