(CMR) Relatives of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre have reached a historic $73 million settlement with Remington in a lawsuit that saw a gun manufacturer for the first time face liability following a mass shooting in the United States.
The families had taken Remington to court, stating that it was responsible based on its marketing of its Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle, which was used in the December 2012 killings of 20 first-graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut.
The killer fatally shot his mother before the elementary school rampage and then killed himself. Families of the victims argued that the gun maker irresponsibly marketed the weapon to at-risk young men such as the Sandy Hook shooter through product placement in violent video games.
“Today marks an inflection point. Today is a day of accountability for an industry that has thus far enjoyed operating with immunity and impunity, and for this I am grateful,” Veronique de la Rosa, the mother of six-year-old victim Noah Pozner, said at a press conference Tuesday.
Based in Madison, North Carolina, Remington has since filed for bankruptcy.
NBC News reported that reaching a settlement was complicated. The lawsuit made its way through the state Supreme Court after Remington argued it should be protected under a federal law designed to prevent gun manufacturers from being held liable for crimes in which their guns were used.
However, in 2019, the US Supreme Court said it would allow the suit to go forward.
Last year attorneys for Remington offered nearly $33 million to settle the suit; however, the families did not accept.
The gun manufacturer then subpoenaed school records of children and educators killed in the massacre. Attorneys for the families immediately moved to seal those records, stating that they did not see a reason for the gun manufacturer to want those records.
Parents and other relatives of the victims said they hoped that this settlement would prevent other families from experiencing the pain they had by setting a new precedent for the firearm industry.
“Our legal system has given us some justice today,” said Francine Wheeler, mother of first-grader Benjamin Wheeler.
“True justice would be our 15-year-old, healthy and standing next to us right now, but Benny will never be 15,” she added. “He will be six forever because he is gone forever. Today is about what is right and what is wrong.”
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