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Foreword: Tort Law as Regulatory Tool

Foreword: Tort Law as Regulatory Tool The availability of firearms and the prevalence of gun violence are matters of serious discussion across the United States. Firearm regulation has many facets. It is a constitutional issue and a political issue, a sociological issue and a public health issue. And for the last few decades, it has intermittently – but quite persistently – posed issues for private law.Attempts to regulate guns through tort suits have been more salient than they have been successful. They were salient enough for Congress in 2005 to pass the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which preempts various claims against gun manufacturers for harms caused by their products.15 U.S.C. §§ 7901-7903. Such lawsuits, never particularly successful, are even less viable under PLCAA. For instance, in October of 2016, a Connecticut Superior Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the families of some victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The court held that the suit “falls squarely within the broad immunity provided by PLCAA.”Soto v. Bushmaster Firearms Int’l, LLC, No. FBTCV156048103S, 2016 WL 8115354, at *23 (Conn. Super. Ct. Oct. 14, 2016). The case is on appeal to the Connecticut Supreme Court. See Chris Welch, Sandy Hook gun lawsuit http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Tort Law de Gruyter

Foreword: Tort Law as Regulatory Tool

Kendrick, Leslie
Journal of Tort Law , Volume 10 (1): 2 – Aug 28, 2017
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Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
ISSN
1932-9148
eISSN
1932-9148
DOI
10.1515/jtl-2017-0008
Publisher site
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Abstract

The availability of firearms and the prevalence of gun violence are matters of serious discussion across the United States. Firearm regulation has many facets. It is a constitutional issue and a political issue, a sociological issue and a public health issue. And for the last few decades, it has intermittently – but quite persistently – posed issues for private law.Attempts to regulate guns through tort suits have been more salient than they have been successful. They were salient enough for Congress in 2005 to pass the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which preempts various claims against gun manufacturers for harms caused by their products.15 U.S.C. §§ 7901-7903. Such lawsuits, never particularly successful, are even less viable under PLCAA. For instance, in October of 2016, a Connecticut Superior Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the families of some victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The court held that the suit “falls squarely within the broad immunity provided by PLCAA.”Soto v. Bushmaster Firearms Int’l, LLC, No. FBTCV156048103S, 2016 WL 8115354, at *23 (Conn. Super. Ct. Oct. 14, 2016). The case is on appeal to the Connecticut Supreme Court. See Chris Welch, Sandy Hook gun lawsuit

Journal

Journal of Tort Law – de Gruyter

Published: Aug 28, 2017

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