WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court refused Tuesday to shield a major arms manufacturer from potential liability in the 2012 school shooting that left 26 students and educators dead in Newtown, Conn.
The justices' action allows a lawsuit filed by parents of Sandy Hook Elementary School victims to move forward at the state level, on the allegation that Remington Arms Co. marketed the military-style rifle used in the mass shooting "for use in assaults against human beings."
The case tests the reach of a 2005 law passed by Congress to protect firearms manufacturers from being held liable for crimes committed by gun purchasers. That law was hailed by the National Rifle Association, but it included exceptions, including one for violating rules related to marketing and advertising.
Gun control advocates have said a victory by the families in the long-running dispute could lead to more lawsuits and damaging disclosures involving the firearms industry.
Tuesday’s decision allows victims of gun violence to sue gun manufacturers going forward and could have massive ramifications for the future of the industry. The justices didn't comment on why they chose to reject the appeal.
In November 2017, family members of the victims filed suit against Remington and accused the gunmaker of aggressively marketing and glorifying its products — including the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting — to vulnerable young men.
Gun rights groups argued the case could upend existing protections afforded to the firearm industry by Congress. The families’ lawsuit challenges a 2005 federal law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which shields gun companies from liability and passed after aggressive lobbying from the NRA.
The NRA, Connecticut-based gun organizations, nine states, Second Amendment law professors, and 22 members of Congress had thrown their weight behind Remington.
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