Feinstein on Newtown Lawsuit Ruling

Washington—Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement after the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled to allow a lawsuit related to the Sandy Hook shooting to move forward:

“I'm pleased the Connecticut Supreme Court is allowing a lawsuit to move forward against the manufacturer of the AR-15 assault rifle used in the Newtown shooting.

“The families in the lawsuit allege that the company was marketing the AR-15 to civilians ‘to carry out offensive, military style combat missions against their perceived enemies.’

“The court responds: ‘Such use of the XM15-E2S, or any weapon for that matter, would be illegal, and Connecticut law does not permit advertisements that promote or encourage violent, criminal behavior.’

“This weapon is not suitable for civilian use. The military characteristics aren’t cosmetic, they exist to allow as many rounds to be fired as quickly and as accurately as possible to kill large numbers of people.

“This weapon should be in the hands of the military and law enforcement, not available for any civilian to purchase with few if any checks."

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