BY ZOE GREENBERG ’23
Up until now, the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) shielded firearm makers from facing legal repercussions for crimes committed with their products — a special protection awarded exclusively to the gun industry. The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a groundbreaking ruling on Nov. 12 of this year, allowing families of victims in the Sandy Hook shooting to sue gunmaker Remington Arms Co. for its wrongful marketing of the assault weapon used in the massacre.
The decision to allow a lawsuit that could charge a gun manufacturer is a long overdue victory against the gun industry.
On the surface, it might seem unfair to hold a manufacturer accountable for harm caused by its legally sold and non-defective product. But while this idea may hold true for companies like food manufacturers, which sell innocuous products, gun manufacturers are different because they market dangerous products to vulnerable people. Although little is known about how gun companies make marketing decisions internally, Sandy Hook victims’ families hope that their lawsuit will force Remington to disclose company communications that suggest the gun industry purposefully markets military-style assault weapons to individuals like the Sandy Hook shooter.
In recent years, gun makers made a profitable move to produce and market “black rifle” military-style firearms accessorized with high capacity magazines and military-like scopes, such as the AR-15 and its variants — mass murderers’ weapon of choice.
With ads like Remington-owned Bushmaster’s “consider your man card reissued,” and gun maker
Savage Arms’ slogan, “one shot one kill,” it’s easy to see how the gun industry preys on people’s desire for power, especially in younger, at-risk men.
According to a report by the U.S. Department of Justice, gun violence is disproportionately committed by, and directed at, men. From 1980 to 2008, 90 percent of homicide convicts were men.
The gun industry only responds to money. If we want the gun industry to start caring about gun violence, we need the threat of lawsuits to force manufacturers to reconsider their marketing strategies.
But this is only part of the equation. Not only does the gun industry use harmful marketing tactics, it also goes to great lengths to block legislation intended to mitigate violence caused by the weapons they produce.
According to Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center, the National Rifle Association (NRA) opposes gun control legislation because it’s bad for business — a ban on assault weapons would eliminate profitable products from gun makers’ catalogs and an increase in the minimum age to purchase firearms would reduce manufacturers’ market.
The NRA’s power over Congress extends beyond campaign fundraising. Congressional Republicans are concerned about keeping the support of the NRA’s devoted single-issue voters.
Marketing secrets revealed by the Sandy Hook lawsuit could provide the perfect ammunition for other counter-campaigns against the gun industry. These campaigns would help finally take down some of America’s most powerful gun industries and stop them from further interfering in the country’s legislation.