Bernie Sanders needs the guns for the Communist Revolution BY:
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-BREAKING NEWS April 14th 2016
In a major blow to gun companies, a judge in Connecticut on Thursday decided the lawsuit brought by 10 families affected by the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School against the maker of the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle used in the shooting will continue.
At issue is the 2005 federal law that provides gun businesses immunity from civil lawsuits, known as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), or PLCAA for short. Connecticut State Judge Barbara Bellis on Thursday rejected the gun companies’ motion to dismiss the case.
The families are suing the maker, distributor and seller of the rifle, which the gunman used to slat first-graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, in less than five minutes on December 14, 2012. They argue the rifle shouldn’t have been entrusted to the general public because it is a military-style assault weapon that is unsuited for civilian use. They say the gun companies knew—or should have known—about the high risks posed by the weapon, including the ability for a shooter to use it to inflict maximum casualties and serious injury.
The families and attorneys for the three gun companies met for a crucial hearing on February 22. The defense lawyers had argued to dismiss the lawsuit, saying their clients are shielded by PLCAA, which prevents gun violence victims from taking legal action against firearms distributors whose weapons are used in crimes and fatal shootings.
This December 2012 photo released by the Connecticut State Police on Friday, Dec. 27, 2013, shows a scene at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Adam Lanza gunned down 20 first-graders and six educators with a semi-automatic rifle at the school on Dec. 14, 2012, after killing his mother inside their home. Lanza committed suicide with a handgun as police arrived at the school. (AP Photo/Connecticut State Police)
PLCAA has been an issue in the Democratic presidential race. Hillary Clinton has called out Bernie Sanders multiple times for his support for PLCAA when he was a member of the House. As a senator from New York at the time, Clinton had voted against it. Sanders continues to defend his decision to support the measure, citing his ties to Vermont and hope to protect mom-and-pop gun shops from legal action. He also cites his D-minus rating from the National Rifle Association, which he says shows he isn’t a friend to the gun lobby.
The case names Remington Arms Co., the manufacturer of the weapon, as well as Camfour Inc., a distributor of firearms, and Riverview Gun Sales, the now-defunct dealer in East Windsor, Connecticut, that sold the rifle to the shooter’s mother in 2010.
Bellis’s decision comes just hours before the Democrats will face off in a debate in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, less than 100 miles from where the massacre took place at Sandy Hook Elementary.
After the hearing in February, Bellis set April 19 as her deadline to rule on the case. The two sides are expected to meet next on Tuesday afternoon.
Newsweek
