Because a gun they made was used to kill little children Glad those families got some measure of closure with this.
We have already established that gun makers can't be sued. This was purely about marketing (which is a hallow veil to go after them for making the guns.) Guns exist. We allow them to be made. Would you allow a knife maker to be sued if their knife was used in a mass casualty event?
The gun worked exactly as it was supposed to. I don't think the lawsuit is about using something they manufactured for something it wasn't intended to be used for. Otherwise you could sue a manufacturer of anything that was used to kill people. I don't knowing how it was marketed... If it was marketed as a military weapon then I think the lawsuit is probably reasonable... It's not a military rifle and shouldn't be marketed as one.
The civil court case in Connecticut focused on how the firearm used by the Newtown shooter — a Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle — was marketed, alleging it targeted younger, at-risk males in marketing and product placement in violent video games. In one of Remington’s ads, it features the rifle against a plain backdrop and the phrase: “Consider Your Man Card Reissued.” This old canard. No amount of information to the contrary will ever make this go away, huh?
I don't know why we as a society equate money to closure. If someone killed my daughter I don't think any amount of money in the world could make me feel whole again. The kid who committed the crime is dead. The system that allowed his mental illness to go unchecked is still in full swing.
This one is tough... without forcing his parents to get him the help he needs I'm not sure what else the system could have done. His family had plenty of money. No trouble accessing healthcare... They were just kind of crazy. The gun was locked away in a safe, as secure as a gun possibly could be. It didn't have capabilities any other hunting rifle can't have... Just a shitty situation. And I think if my kid was killed I'd lose everything. I wouldn't be able to function as a productive adult for a long time. The money would help in that it would hopefully help to get myself and my family back to a similar financial footing as we had before...
I never said they would feel whole again or that money could make them whole. That's why I said some measure of closure, and not closure alone. They will never get their children back, but having the manufacture of the gun that killed them, now has had to pay. That's a start. I expect them to fight until they are no longer on this Earth to try and stop other school shootings from happening, for better gun control, etc.
I guess I will never understand why we seem to blame the gun and not the person who committed the crime. It seems like such a massive case of illogical behavior. My wife's sister was murdered years ago. A stalker kidnapped her and shot her in the back on I-5 after she crashed the car and tried to run. He then went across the freeway and shot himself in the head. This guy had multiple restraining orders from other women. He legally wasn't allowed to have a gun. Her family doesn't blame the gun. They blame the horrible human being that stole their sister away from them.
I guess. People are angry and they want someone to blame. I just don't agree with it. Focus your energy on changing the system.
This is the answer, right here. The problem is people have bought into the idea that solving the problems necessary to address our violent crime problem (along with most of the rest of our problems) is the same as authoritarian communism. And the elite and their corporations have fanned the flame of misunderstanding enough to keep most people desperate enough to be taken advantage of...
I've thought about this a lot also because I agree if it were my family money would not replace them. The system is broke but I feel like this addresses your previous comment. Sueing the company responsible (or partly responsible) currently is the only way to change the system. Corporations only care about money and hitting them in their bottom line is the only thing that will make them take responsible actions in the future. So in essence the lawsuit is not about making their family whole, for the families involved they are focusing on fixing the system the only way realistically available. Now we can argue on whether not not the gun manufacturers are responsible but that's not my point, but since the settled they must feel like they have some legal liability.
Yeah, advertising to the extreme gun nut culture is just asking for it... They should definitely be more responsible than that.
Knives have a practical use but handguns and assault style rifles have no practical use and neither do large magazines have a practical use. Shotguns that are not sawed off and bolt action hunting rifles have a practical use. The only practical use for a handgun would be in the woods for shooting varmints.
Just as you said about guns, there are knives that are designed for only one real purpose. They aren't designed for cooking or crafting. Should those knives be held to the same standard when they are used to inflict violence?
