Nine Sandy Hook Elementary School families appeared before the Connecticut Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking reinstatement of their lawsuit against the maker of the stolen gun used in the December 14, 2012 attack.
The families are seeking permission to sue Remington Outdoor Co., which is the parent company of the company that legally manufactured the Bushmaster AR-15 used in the Sandy Hook attack. That AR-15 was legally sold to Nancy Lanza and afterward stolen by her son, Adam, who used it to kill 26 people in gun-free Sandy Hook Elementary School.
According to the Guardian, the attorney for Sandy Hook told the court, “Remington may never have known [Sandy Hook shooter] Adam Lanza, but they had been courting him for years.” He added, “The weapon he needed for his mission that day was never in doubt.” That attorney, Josh Koskoff, said the AR-15 Lanza stole had been marketed as “the uncompromising choice when you demand a rifle as mission-adaptable as you.”
The attorney for Remington countered Koshoff by reminding the court that the gun was legally manufactured and acquired. He asked how any one could suggest Remington is liable for the actions of a thief.
The attempt to have the lawsuit reinstated is but the latest in what has been an unsuccessful push to sue Remington over the attack on Sandy Hook. The original suit was dismissed on October 10, 2014, by Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis. She pointed to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (2005) as the reason for the dismissal. The PLCAA protects manufacturers from frivolous suits focused on guns are legally manufactured and legally sold, then stolen and put to criminal use.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.