The manufacturer of the assault rifle used in one of the deadliest school massacres in the history of the United States has reached a million-dollar settlement with the families of the victims.
Remington Arms, the oldest arms brand in the US, agreed to pay US$73 million to the relatives of 9 of the 26 fatalities in the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre.
It is the first time a weapons manufacturer has taken responsibility for a mass shooting.
Until now, this industry has been immune from litigation.
Each family will receive a portion of the funds, but other details of the deal have not been disclosed.
Josh Koskoff, an attorney representing the victims’ families, said they were happy with the outcome because their focus was on “preventing the next Sandy Hook.”
“Our loss is irreversible, in the sense that this outcome is neither redemptive nor restorative,” wrote Lenny Pozner and Veronique De la Rosa, whose six-year-old son, Noah, was killed.
“What was lost is still lost. But nevertheless, the ruling provides a measure of accountability in an industry that has so far operated with impunity”, they added in a testimony released after the agreement was made public.
This makes it more likely that there will be future lawsuits
Analysis by Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America Reporter
In the early 2000s, the National Rifle Association and other gun advocacy groups lobbied states and the federal government to enact laws that would protect gun manufacturers from financial liability for deaths resulting from gun use. of your products. His crowning achievement was the Lawful Arms Trade Protection Act, passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush in 2005.
That law has protected many gun manufacturers from legal action, but it was not enough to protect Remington and his Bushmaster AR-15, used by Adam Lanza to kill 20 children and six school employees in Newtown, Connecticut.
The families of five adults and four children who were victims of that attack said Remington advertised its rifle to “at-risk” youth through violent video games and bombastic, militaristic language.
They pointed out that there was a provision in federal law that prohibited illegal marketing claims. Remington’s decision to pay $73 million to end the lawsuit suggests the company assessed the risk of going to court and opened up its checkbook.
This agreement may encourage state governments and gun control advocates who want to hold manufacturers financially responsible for gun violence to move forward, offering hope that existing legal protections will not always be an insurmountable obstacle.
One example cited by attorney Koskoff featured an image of a rifle along with the words “please consider your man card reissued.”
The lawsuit alleged that the campaign was part of a larger, “aggressive” marketing effort. which included product placement in video games.
The $73 million is equal to the total amount of coverage available through Remington’s four insurers.
“This victory should serve as a wake-up call, not only for the gun industry, but also for the insurance and banking companies that support it,” Koskoff said.
“For the insurance and banking industries, it’s time to recognize the financial cost of insuring companies that boost profits by increasing risk”, he added.
Last July, Remington, America’s oldest gunmaker, offered the families $33 million, far less than the $225 million they had asked for in court. They rejected the offer, saying they had gathered enough evidence to prove Remington’s misconduct.
Remington, which was founded in 1816 and is based in North Carolina, denied the allegations, saying there was no evidence its marketing practices were related to the Sandy Hook shooting.
The company could not be immediately reached for comment after the deal was disclosed Tuesday.
Despite the deaths of young children as young as 6 and 7, no new national gun control laws have been passed since the Sandy Hook shooting.
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
