UNITED STATES NEWS

Uvalde families dig in for new test of gun industry protections

May 19, 2023, 9:41 PM

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — After Mayah Zamora was shot and wounded at Robb Elementary School, her family did what many mass shooting survivors do: They sued.

They sued the store off Main Street in Uvalde, Texas, that sold the teenage gunman his AR-style rifle. They sued the gun maker. And they sued police who waited 77 minutes outside Mayah’s fourth-grade classroom before stopping the shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers.

“Mainly what we are looking for is some sort of justice,” said Christina Zamora, Mayah’s mother.

As a $144 million settlement with relatives and families of a 2017 Texas church attack, which was carried out by a former U.S. airman with a criminal history.

The lawsuits, relatives and victims of mass shootings say, are an effort to get accountability and prevent more attacks — by forcing reforms, hurting the gun industry’s bottom line and strengthening background checks after lapses failed to stop gunmen from buying weapons.

But despite two high-profile settlements in the last year involving gun manufacturers, and Democrat-led states rolling back some industry protections, not only do high hurdles remain for lawsuits to succeed, but in some places the hurdles are growing taller.

On May 11, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a new law that further shields gun manufacturers from lawsuits, weeks after a shooter at a Nashville school killed six people.

It comes as attorneys say the narrow path for victims to bring lawsuits has begun to widen, including for families in Uvalde, who on Wednesday will mark the one year since the most deadly school shooting in Texas history.

“I think there are more opportunities for accountability than maybe there were five to 10 years ago,” said Eric Tirschwell, executive director for Everytown for Gun Safety, which for years has brought lawsuits against the gun industry and is also involved in the Uvalde case.

The track record for lawsuits following mass shootings is mixed. The gun industry remains largely protected from liability under a federal law, known as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, though it does not completely exempt or immunize gun manufacturers from lawsuits.

Over the last decade, courts have tossed numerous lawsuits, many of which did not target the gun industry but instead brought negligence claims against the government or the places where the attacks took place. In 2020, the casino company MGM Resorts International and its insurers agreed to an $800 million settlement over a shooting on the Las Vegas Strip that killed 58 people and injured hundreds more.

Last year, the maker of the rifle used in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting settled with families for $73 million over a lawsuit that accused Remington of targeting younger, at-risk males in marketing. In Tennessee, the GOP sponsor of the state’s new law waved to what happened in Connecticut in defending the need to further shield the industry: “Few companies can survive a $73 million settlement,” state Rep. Monty Fritts said in February.

In Uvalde, victims have also accused Daniel Defense, the maker of the weapon used in the attack, of dangerous marketing. The company has denied that in court, and gun industry groups have broadly rejected the argument since the Sandy Hook settlement.

“The commercial speech is still protected speech,” said Mark Oliva, managing director for public affairs at the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

The lawsuits in Uvalde are still in the early stages and not all families sued. For the Zamoras, they decided to join only after Mayah was released from the hospital, which was not until more than two months after the shooting and dozens of surgeries. Next year, her parents say, they hope she can return to school in person.

After the Uvalde shooting, Sandy and Lonnie Phillips drove to the town and shared with families their own experiences of suing the gun industry: a decision that ended with them declaring bankruptcy after losing and a court ordering them to pay more than $200,000 to the defendants’ attorneys.

Their daughter, Jessica, was killed in the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Last month, the couple joined Colorado Gov. Jared Polis as the Democrat signed laws aimed at making it easier to sue the gun industry, one of which prevents plaintiffs from having to pay if their lawsuits are dismissed.

“They’re not aware of what’s coming down the pike,” Lonnie Phillips said of victims who bring lawsuits. “They only know that they lost their child and somebody has to pay.”

___

Bleiberg reported from Dallas. Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

United States News

FILE - White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi attends a speech by President Joe Biden about supply c...

Associated Press

Biden rule aims to reduce methane emissions, targeting US oil and gas industry for global warming

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Saturday issued a final rule aimed at reducing methane emissions, targeting the U.S. oil and natural gas industry for its role in global warming as President Joe Biden seeks to advance his climate legacy. The Environmental Protection Agency said the new rule will sharply reduce methane and other […]

5 hours ago

Associated Press

Trump and DeSantis will hold dueling campaign events in Iowa with the caucuses just six weeks away

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ron DeSantis plans on Saturday to complete his campaign promise to visit each of Iowa’s 99 counties, a timeworn tactic for presidential candidates hoping to make their mark in the leadoff state over months mingling with voters at the state’s diners, cookouts and Pizza Ranches. But the Florida governor’s moment, […]

8 hours ago

FILE - Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is shown before administering the oath of office t...

Associated Press

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor paved a path for women on the Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AP) — One fall day in 2010, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor slipped into the courtroom where she worked for nearly 25 years to take in an “amazing” sight. The first — and for 12 years, the only — woman on the high court saw three women in black robes among the […]

8 hours ago

Associated Press

US Navy plans to raise jet plane off Hawaii coral reef using inflatable cylinders

HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. Navy plans to use inflatable cylinders to lift and roll a jet plane off a coral reef in Hawaii before removal from the ocean waters where the aircraft crashed on Nov. 20. Rear Adm. Kevin Lenox, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 3 who is leading the salvage effort, said […]

9 hours ago

Associated Press

Las Vegas police search for suspect after 5 homeless people are shot, killing 2

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Five homeless people were shot in Las Vegas on Friday, two of them fatally, and police were searching for a lone suspect, authorities said. The shooting occurred around 5:30 p.m. near a freeway overpass in the northeastern part of the city, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Mark Lourenco. […]

10 hours ago

Associated Press

Judge rejects calls to halt winter construction work on Willow oil project in Alaska during appeal

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal judge in Alaska on Friday rejected requests from environmental groups to halt winter construction work for the massive Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope while the groups’ legal fight over the drilling project wages on. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason just last month upheld the Biden administration’s […]

11 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Dierdre Woodruff

Interest rates may have peaked. Should you buy a CD, high-yield savings account, or a fixed annuity?

Interest rates are the highest they’ve been in decades, and it looks like the Fed has paused hikes. This may be the best time to lock in rates for long-term, low-risk financial products like fixed annuities.

...

SCHWARTZ LASER EYE CENTER

Key dates for Arizona sports fans to look forward to this fall

Fall brings new beginnings in different ways for Arizona’s professional sports teams like the Cardinals and Coyotes.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

Uvalde families dig in for new test of gun industry protections