Parents of the students who were killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre strongly believe the lawsuit against Remington Arms will prosper in court. The bereaved party thinks the gun manufacturer is partly to blame for the shooting.
For her part, grieving mother Nicole Hockley told NPR that there is credence to the lawsuit. She said Remington Arms displayed negligence by selling a high-powered rifle to Adam Lanza.
"There were a lot of guns the shooter could have chosen from his arsenal and he chose the AR-15," said Hockley. "Because he knew it would kill as many people as possible as fast as possible."
Remington's legal counsel quickly brushed off the accusation by stating that the company can't be prosecuted for the crimes committed by its independent customers. The lawyers of the defendant claimed that the firearm maker is fully exempted from such liability, as per the Protection of Lawful Commerce and Arms Act of 2005.
Radio journalist Katie Toth is on the victim's side. She said the law that was cited by the Remington camp was not absolute. She explained that a retailer is still liable when it knows its buyer can potentially use its product in committing a crime.
"The victims' families are accusing Remington of negligent entrustment," Toth clarified. "They say the weapon that was used in the shooting massacre was a military-style weapon and that it should have never been sold to civilians."
Joshua Koskoff, an attorney who is representing nine families and one teacher who survived the shooting, also shares the same sentiment. He told CNN News that due to the sheer firepower of the AR-15, even the US Military has been very cautious in using the weapon during its operations.
Koskoff accused Remington Arms of negligent entrustment since the company made the high-powered rifle readily available to the public. He said, "They took that same weapon and started peddling it to the civilian market for the purposes of making a lot of money."
