A judge in Connecticut has dismissed a lawsuit brought by relatives of those killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook primary school in 2012. Twenty children and six adults were killed in the attack.
The lawsuit, filed in December 2014 and seeking unspecified financial damages, said the AR-15 military-syle assault weapon used in the attack in Newtown, Connecticut, should never have been sold to the gunman’s mother, Nancy Lanza, because it had no reasonable civilian purpose. They argued the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle was designed for military use.
Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis sided with Remington Arms, the North Carolina-based maker of the rifle known as the Bushmaster that 20-year-old Adam Lanza used in his rampage at Sandy Hook. She dismissed the case on the grounds that federal law prevents legal action against gun manufacturers.
Judge Barbara Bellis ruled that The 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act protected Remington from being sued for the use of its products in an illegal manner.
“The present case seeks damages for harms, including the deaths of the plaintiffs’ decedents that were caused solely by the criminal misuse of a weapon by Adam Lanza,” Bellis wrote in a 54-page decision. “This action falls squarely within the broad immunity provided by PLCAA.”
An attorney for the families vowed to appeal the decision saying, “While the families are obviously disappointed with the judge’s decision, this is not the end of the fight,” attorney Josh Koskoff said in a statement. “We will appeal this decision immediately and continue our work to help prevent the next Sandy Hook from happening.”
The lawsuit against Remington never stood a chance.