Taking gun manufacturers to court can save lives

Just as it seemed egregious that only a tax violation sent Al Capone to prison, it might seem bizarre that lawsuits are becoming a significant tool to address rampant gun violence.

But the decision by survivors and families of the victims of July’s horrific Highland Park parade shootings to sue gunmaker Smith & Wesson is the right one. The gun industry and its allies for too long have helped to spread carnage while ducking responsibility. Because the gun industry has managed to create near-blanket legal immunity for itself in so many ways, lawsuits are one of the few effective ways to reduce gun violence.  

You would think there would have been immediate and severe repercussions after seven people were killed and more than 30 people were injured at the Highland Park parade. But back in 2005, gun manufacturers got Congress to give them broad immunity from lawsuits over gun crimes. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act not only shielded gunmakers from lawsuits over gun crimes, but it also overrode state laws that could have held the companies liable for their negligence.

But earlier this year, plaintiffs in a lawsuit over the killing of 20 young children and six adults in 2012 in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, won a $73 million settlement. The plaintiffs showed that Remington-Bushmaster, maker of the gun used in that crime, had violated Connecticut’s advertising and consumer protection law.

It marked the first time a firearms manufacturer settled a lawsuit brought by gun violence victims since the 2005 immunity law was enacted.

The Highland Park lawsuits follow the Sandy Hook model by citing Smith & Wesson’s marketing of the semiautomatic rifle used in the attack. The plaintiffs in 10 lawsuits on behalf of more than 40 individuals or estates also sued two gun stores — Bud’s Gun Shop and Red Dot Arms — saying they negligently and illegally sold the murder weapon to the alleged shooter, Robert E. Crimo III, in violation of assault weapons bans in Highwood and Highland Park. Crimo has pleaded not guilty.

In the lawsuit, attorneys say the shooting was “foreseeable” and “entirely preventable,” and happened only because of negligence by the defendants.

Deliberately targeting children

The gun industry has skated free for too long. But states are starting to respond. In July, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a measure that lets victims of gun violence sue gun manufacturers. Also in July, New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law that allows firearm sellers, manufacturers and distributors to be sued for creating a public nuisance. Illinois’ Consumer Fraud Act, which prohibits consumer fraud and deceptive practices, is the basis for the Highland Park lawsuits.

Moreover, large law firms with extensive resources are now starting to take up cases against the gun industry, giving lawsuits a better chance to succeed.

“What we have seen across the country is a deliberate attempt to target young people as [gun companies’] present and future consumers,” Dan Kotowski, president of Kids Above All, told us. “The public hasn’t caught up to this and doesn’t see how they are deliberately targeting children. The lawsuit is an important way to raise awareness about the dangerous practices.”

The lawsuits allege the “shooter was the type of young consumer susceptible to Smith & Wesson’s deceptive and unfair marketing, and was enabled by his father.” Crimo’s father sponsored his son’s application for a FOID (Firearm Owners Identification) card.

Until now, most of the conversation about reducing gun violence has focused on imprisoning people who have used guns in crimes. The gun industry has been able to wash its hands of the bloodshed because it has had too many people in power in its back pocket. What we are seeing now is an important attempt to hold people accountable for putting guns in the hands of criminals.

Fighting out lawsuits in court will take years, and it is unclear what the Supreme Court will rule in the end. The court refused to take up the Connecticut case, which allowed the Sandy Hook settlement to go ahead, but right-wing justices have been added to the court since then.

Meanwhile, the Legislature in the next session needs to ban large-capacity magazines and assault weapons In Illinois. Doing so on the state level might prompt Congress to enact such bans federally.

America finally sent Al Capone to prison. It needs to put a stop to today’s gun violence as well.

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