Thread by @igorvolsky

1. A gun manufacturer has just asked the Supreme Court to protect it from liability after it knowingly produced and marketed an incredibly lethal military-style weapon that allowed a killer to assassinate 26 people in 264 seconds at Sandy Hook in 2012. cnn.com/2019/08/01/pol…

2. The Sandy Hook families bringing the suit claim that the manufacturer, @RemingtonArms, marketed assault weapons by extolling its militaristic qualities, reinforcing the image of a combat weapon -- in violation of a Connecticut law that prevents deceptive marketing practices.

@RemingtonArms 3. @RepingtonArms say that 2005 PLCAA law -- a top @NRA priority that Bush enacted -- protects it from most forms of liability.

In other words: they can knowingly produce weapons that allow killers to gun down dozens of people in seconds & market them as such and \_(ツ)_/¯

@RemingtonArms @NRA 4. PLCAA came out of a slew of legal challenges in 1990s & early 2000s that culminated in an effort to sue gunmakers for continuing to knowingly sell guns to dealers who regularly funneled weapons to criminals and for failing to include safety features that could have saved lives

@RemingtonArms @NRA 5. The lawsuits posed a financial threat to the gun industry and so @NRA began lobbying Congress for a special liability.

Under PLCAA, victims or surviving relatives can't sue a gun manufacturer or dealer when the shooting is negligent or criminal

@RemingtonArms @NRA 6. Other industries don't have this shield

i.e. Consumers can sue GM if it makes cars that cant withstand minor crash

Person who crashes is partly responsible, but GM may be liable for producing cheap wheels

Manufacturers must manufacture for worst case, not best case

@RemingtonArms @NRA 7. Gun makers & dealers pushed through PLCAA to exempt them from basic principle that defines relationship btwn companies & govt oversight:

Under PLCAA, gunmaker cant be held liable for marketing guns in a way that feeds an illegal market or for failing to add safety features

@RemingtonArms @NRA 8. As for @RemingtonArms, its marketing materials for Bushmaster XM15-e2s -- the gun used at Sandy Hook -- specifically targeted young men & appealed to them with hypermasculine & violent messaging. An ad for the gun included the tagline, “Consider your man card reissued.”

@RemingtonArms @NRA 9. In 2019, the United States deals with gun crimes by locking black and brown men behind bars and extending literal immunity to large gun manufacturers.

That has to end.