Opinion
BELLEVUE, WA – -(AmmoLand.com)- The Second Amendment Foundation today criticized the 4-3 split decision by the Connecticut state Supreme Court that reinstated a lawsuit against Remington Arms over how it marketed the Bushmaster rifle used in the tragic 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.
“This ruling strains logic, if not common sense,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The court dismissed the bulk of the lawsuit’s allegations but appears to have grasped at this single straw by deciding that the advertising is somehow at fault for what Adam Lanza did that day in December more than six years ago.
“This is like suing Ford or General Motors because a car they sold was stolen and used to run over a pedestrian all because the car manufacturers advertised that their car had better acceleration and performance than other vehicles,” he added.
Lanza, 20, first killed his mother and took her legally-purchased Bushmaster rifle to the school, where he murdered 20 youngsters and six adults. The lawsuit contends that Remington’s advertising was designed to glorify the Bushmaster rifle and enhance its appeal to younger consumers.
Justice Richard Palmer, writing for the majority, said that the “regulation of advertising that threatens the public’s health, safety, and morals has long been considered a core exercise of the state’s police powers.”
“That is absurd in this case,” Gottlieb observed. “Did the advertising even remotely suggest that the Bushmaster is best for murdering people? It appears to me like the court was looking for a way to squeak around the provisions of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act that Congress passed in 2005. After all, the court dismissed most of the allegations but now has decided that advertising might be at fault. That’s a stretch of credulity worthy of surgical elastic.”
“There is no evidence the killer was driven by any advertising whatsoever,” he said. “This is an affront to the First Amendment as well as the Second. Even hinting that the killer was motivated in some way by an advertising message is so far out in the weeds that it may take a map for the court to find its way back.”
Second Amendment Foundation
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
Hollywood glorifies violence – hmmmm – the next act of violence committed, the victim should sue Matt Damon and the creators producers of Jason Borne. Makes perfect sense to me.
If ever in a car wreck, get ready auto manufacturer, it is your fault, you made the damn car so your are responsible for how people drive it. Yep good to go here.
Thank you Connecticut Supremes!
Flat-ass no!
No one is taking my guns away . The laws that are on the books now need to be enforced. Wackos and felons should not be allowed to purchase guns . The bad guys will find a way to buy guns anyway. Society is going down the toilet because people aren’t spending enough time talking at the dinner table .
The plaintiffs in this case need first to establish that there was in fact a massacre at the school.
I see that I’m preaching to the choir, but here’s my 2 cents.. I believe this is worse than what happened to the tobacco industry… It’s worse than taking/not taking responsibility too. Mc Donald’s failed to see the signs, (tobacco’s Surgeon General warnings hinted at it coming down the road), of irresponsible people using “not warning of hot coffee” as a paycheck… How many companies spent fortunes afterwards to label everything? Do we want to stop this ‘evil’? It starts with Family, …training up a child in the way they should go.. Responsibility! No more allowing Gov/School/Society to decide what’s… Read more »
this is all about big money and lawyers I was told that by one of the dads whos daughter was killed there he is a good friend of mine
gun-control d-suckers of America: FU
Just think about it, we actually pay enormous taxes to these people who, in turn, use their position to make life miserable for us. You would think we would be smarter than that. It appears that most that comment here have a high degree of intelligence but the progressives still get away with whatever they want to do. I, for one, won’t be buying any guns made in Conn. because the state of progressives will get a cut of it. If the gun companies can’t move out then they can go down with the ship
The bushmaster wasn’t even used at sandy hoax. The bushmaster was found in the trunk of the car of the alleged shooter. The hellicopter that flew over caught the shot of the trunk with the bushmaster in it.
Illegal use of MO.. I think?
The gun was at the scene and had opportunity…
I hope that whatever is left of Remington, Colt, Marlin, Winchester, Mossberg, Charter, and all of the remaining arms manufacturers LEAVE CONNECTICUT IMMEDIATLY!! Make provision for your employees and tell Ct to go to hell.
Connecticut has been the cradle of manufacturing for a long time, but now government has regulated and chased out almost all manufacturing jobs. If you don’t work for insurance or some college or university you don’t belong in Ct. The elites ( I hate that term) rule. I’m just glad I was able to ESCAPE to the free world 5 years ago.
It’s not just the idiots in the Congress and Senate and State lawmakers that have become liberal shills for the gun control groups, but judges as well. It’s time to start holding these bastards accountable for their actions.
This is the future of the Democrat (Communist) playbook on how to dismember the 2nd Amendment and then the Constitution as their final goal. Connecticut Democrats (Communists) use the souls of those children and teachers to pull at the people’s heartstrings and pass these unconstitutional laws in the dead of night. The court system in this state as well as the nation in general is broken. There is no such thing as “justice”. Only a two tier system that allows political hacks in disguise as judges to rule in favor of whatever ideology and political Party they are associated with.… Read more »
This is the total plan, if they can’t dispose of the Second Amendment we will just pick out what they think they can destroy; Certain Guns, Ammo number of boxes or rounds, Parts up grades for guns, and of coarse now open the door for Lawsuits against the manufactures, like everybody is pointing out what about all of the things we use everyday, cars, booze, knives, Stoves, any appliance, My thought is this all started with the Lawsuit against McDonald’s years ago for some stupid ass that put a hot cup of coffee between her legs then scalded herself, it… Read more »
Wait till they have to pay the gun companies lawyers fees, this won’t happen again.
It is all part of a death by a thousand cuts against the Second Amendment and what is left of our Constitution brought on and promoted by the Democrat Party and the socialists and communists inside and running it at the highest levels.
I guess with all of the commercials of cars speeding through corners, speeding through city streets, drifting through turns, racing out on country roads like it’s the autobahn suggests that people should buy the fastest car they can afford ! And then if you get into an accident ITS OK !! Just sue the manufacturer because its their fault that YOU used it in a manner that it was not intended for !! Let’s take responsibility away from the person that committed the crimes and blame everything and everyone else ! I guess the next time someone gets stabbed or… Read more »
The best defense is a good offense. Perhaps the SAF, NRA, and GOA could join forces and organize a massive class action lawsuit against the companies producing violent video games and violent, graphic action movies for their marketing of illegal acts that have caused gun restrictions to be implemented. Get the organization set up and sue the same perps every time a new gun restriction is passed based on an illegal use. Could be interesting…
Every time the demo/libs pull off what they think is a win l just buy more ammunition.
About 2/3rds of all gun deaths are suicides. A few % are accidental. Toss in the 8 -9 thousand thugs shooting each other and not much is left.
Drunk/impared drivers butcher and maim 10’s of thousands.
Nobody suing the beer companies.
Pulling heart strings.
With most news outlets demonizing Remington, expect a cascade effect with other firearms.
I’m not sure what twist of logic these Sandy Hook hoplophobes are using to claim advertising drove Adam Lanza to use a Bushmaster over any other brand/model. He did not purchase the Bushmaster rifle, his mother did. To get at it, he killed her first, and then stole it. That means at least two crimes committed in the acquiring of the murder weapon (he supposedly killed her with a different .22LR rifle). Of course, the liberal activist court went along with this warped line of reasoning. I believe it is going to be squashed at the federal level, since the… Read more »
Remember how they accused the cigarette industry of using “Joe Camel” to lure children to buy their product.
This is just the same application of a plot line. This application on and twisting of the 1st Amendment makes it dangerous taking it to the SCOTUS. After all, SCOTUS came down on the side of the anti-smoking Nazis in
an exact accusation style that was brought against Philip Morris.
Obvious plot to attack gun ownership and manufacturing…