WSJ: Connecticut Court Rules Manufacturer of AR-15 Used at Sandy Hook Can Be Sued on Marketing of Gun.

The Wall Street Journal just reported that the suit brought by families of victims of the Sandy Hook School Shooting can proceed on how the gun was marketed. The case will now return to the trial court to move forward on those claims. The court did toss several other victim claims, finding they were barred by federal law. More to come as news becomes available.

CBS News Conversation with Two Friends on Gun Control

Last week marked five years since the Sandy Hook school shooting. You probably saw a number of articles that talked about how there has been no movement on gun control in Washington in the last five years.  And, of course, one media outlet made a big deal about NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre being at the White House for a Christmas Party on the anniversary of the shooting.  CBS News released the results of a poll it took that, unsurprisingly, showed those who own guns oppose restrictions and those who don't own guns want more.  Over the weekend, the CBSNews streaming site had this short conversation with two friends, one pro-rights and one who was pro-control to see where they could find agreement as part of their Mass Shootings: Five Years After Sandy Hook story. It strikes me that some gun owners are so quick to agree to something like "The only way I would give in and say should ban guns, or a type of gun is if we could all at once, world wide, make all guns disappear."  Now, he may have said that knowing such a thing would never occur but the sound bite is used to show that even a proponent of gun rights and opponent of rights can agree on something.  At the end, even the anti-rights friend agreed you can't take everyone's guns away. 

There is no reason for gun owners to agree to restrictions on basic rights.  We aren't the ones causing crime and placing restrictions on us and banning the ownership of commonly owned firearms is not going to reduce crime.

Sandy Hook Parents, Gun Ban Lobby, Hoping for New Life for Lawsuit

The New York Times has the story here. 

This week, the families of the victims plan to be in Hartford, listening as lawyers lay out in state Supreme Court their case that the companies that manufactured and sold the military-style assault rifle used by the gunman bear responsibility for the attack in which 26 people, including 20 children, were killed.

They are deploying a novel strategy that the families and their lawyers say could pierce the sweeping shield created by federal law that protects gun companies from litigation and has thwarted countless lawsuits after their weapons were used to commit crimes.

The lower court threw out the lawsuit ruling that the claims fell within the Lawful Commerce in Arms Act that was signed into law in 2005. According to the New York Times, the law does allow exceptions for sale and marketing practices that violate state or federal laws and instances of "negligent entrustment", where a firearms is "carelessly" given or sold to a person posing a high risk of misusing it.  The Times noted that negligent entrustment has been cited with some success in lawsuits against firearms dealers.  The Newtown families are the first to attempt broadening the scope to include a weapon’s manufacturer.  That's kind of like suing Ford or GM because a drunk driver who killed one or more people happened to be driving a vehicle manufactured by them.

Washington Post Gives Senator Murphy, Everytown Claim on School Shootings Four Pinocchios

The Washington Post Fact Checker has weighed in on that Everytown for Gun Safety claim that there has been a school shooting every week since Sandy Hook and it isn't good news for Bloomberg and his minions.  The Post decided to weigh in after Conn. U.S. Senator Chris Murphy repeated the claim on the floor of the U.S. Senate on June 24th, sparked by the church shooting in Charleston, S.C.

A version of this claim circulated after the June 2014 incident in Oregon in which a high school freshman armed with an assault rifle shot and killed a student and injured a teacher. President Obama and other gun-control advocates had said then that there had been at least 74 school shootings between Sandy Hook and the Oregon shooting.

The source for the claim then, and for Murphy’s recent statement, is a report by Everytown for Gun Safety, which describes itself as “a movement of Americans working together to end gun violence and build safer communities.”

That list included things like a police chase that ended on school property after hours as a "school shooting." The Post is not the first to rule that Everytown was playing fast and loose with the numbers but having one more source not known to be friendly to the right to keep and bear arms point this out doesn't hurt:

There are many ways to define school shooting. But applying the “reasonable person” standard, as is the standard at The Fact Checker, it is difficult to see how many of the incidents included in Everytown’s list — such as suicide in a car parked on a campus or a student accidentally shooting himself when emptying his gun and putting it away in his car before school — would be considered a “school shooting” in the context of Sandy Hook.

Lawmakers have a responsibility to check out the facts in the reports they use, especially ones that come from advocacy groups. If they are aware there are definitions that are disputed, or that are defined in other ways depending on who uses them, it is incumbent on lawmakers to clarify exactly what they are talking about and not mislead the public. In particular, lawmakers should rely more on official government statistics, such as from the FBI, rather than misleading metrics cobbled together by interest groups.

We wavered between Three and Four Pinocchios. But this is a definition of “school shooting” that was widely disputed a year ago, and lawmakers need to present information — especially for such a controversial topic as gun control — in a clear, responsible and accurate way. Murphy’s failure to do so tipped the rating to Four.

The Post would do well to take their own advice regarding checking the facts.  In 2014, they ran their story (which has been updated since it was originally posted) on the Everytown report without doing any fact checking.  I guess a year of hearing the numbers and seeing folks like CNN question the numbers made the Post decide to check the facts.  Any bets on whether anti-rights politicians will stop using this bogus statistic after this latest discrediting of Everytown's numbers?

No Surprise, Everytown for Gun Safety School Shooting Map Overstates Incidents

Michael Bloomberg's gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety has created a map that claims that there have been 74 “shootings at schools” since the Newtown, Connecticut school shootings. Investigative journalist Charles Johnson has examined the 74 incidents in detail, and found that some incidents did not take place on campuses, fewer than 7 were mass shootings, one was a case of self-defense, and one probably did not happen.  Not surprising, the map and related media reports have been widely circulated  by the usual gun ban proponents in Hollywood and the media, and even in the news clips of a bureau of the U.S. Department of Justice.   

Also not surprisingly, the numbers are wrong.  Johnson spoke with Cam Edwards on NRANews' Cam and Company yesterday about his finding.

The Gun Control Version of MADD

That's how this Christian Science Monitor article described Moms Demand Action.

The number of gun control groups nationwide has doubled in the past year – some led by small coalitions of Sandy Hook survivors, others led by mothers not directly touched by the tragedy. Many experts cite Moms Demand Action as a growing legislative force on behalf of gun control, where suddenly state legislators across the US are being confronted by women demanding change – a kind of Mothers Against Drunk Driving redux.

The article, just one of many on the gun control landscape since last year's Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, goes on to point out that the number of pro-rights bills passed last year were more than double the number of gun control bills passed:

Moreover, since the Sandy Hook massacre, states have approved no fewer than 93 laws that protect and affirm gun rights – more than double the number of control laws. Because many of those new laws liberalized the carrying of concealed weapons, it’s basically easier to get and use a gun today than it was a year ago, Paul Barrett, author of “Glock: The rise of America’s gun,” told WBUR in Boston on Dec. 5.

I don't know if it is easier to get a firearm  than it was a year ago, but just as this blog did yesterday, the article noted that the states that passed restrictions, were states that already all but ban firearms:

In the past year, eight US states – mostly blue ones in New England and the coastal West, but also “purple” Colorado – approved gun control legislation. In New York and Connecticut, they weren’t merely symbolic changes, either, but rather bans on certain kinds of magazines and guns. The result in New York City, at least, is that some gun owners are getting letters from authorities demanding that they turn in their weapons.

As Sebastian pointed out yesterday, the New York Times had a great interactive piece on what states passed which laws.  Clearly, while we lost some battles, we won a lot more than we lost.  We just need to stay active as new legislative sessions will begin in January.

Virginia Gun Ban Lobby Using Newtown Anniversary to Push Gun Control

Gun ban advocate and Governor Elect Terry McAuliffe Transition Team member Lori Haas sent out an email earlier today detailing activities they will undertake on Saturday, December 14th.  While the families of those slain have asked to be allowed to honor their lost loved ones without media attention, the gun ban lobby is using the day to make the case for more gun control.  Below is the email Ms. Haas sent out detailing how the Virginia gun ban lobby will mark the day and urging their supporters to use social media to send a message to Virginia's congressional delegation.

As many of you know, on Saturday December 14, 2013 we, as a nation, will be marking the 1^st anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. This anniversary is an opportunity for us to honor and remember the victims of gun violence and remind us why we are committed to creating a safer Virginia. Events and vigils will be held across the state over the next few days as we honor those who have lost their lives and continue to push for stronger responsible gun legislation in Virginia.

NEWTOWN ACTION ALLIANCE EVENTS & MOMS DEMAND ACTION: NO MORE SILENCE EVENTS TO COMMEMORATE THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY AND THE 26 LIVES LOST IN THE SHOOTING RAMPAGE AT SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEWTOWN, CT

Thursday Dec 12^th

3:45 – 5:00 p.m. - Newtown National Vigil for all Gun Violence Victims at the National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, DC

Friday Dec. 13^th

Call Congress with our easy call-in tool – check the website at momsdemandaction.org

Saturday Dec 14^th

8:30 – 9:15 a.m. - Ceremony of Remembrance and Activation at UUCF, 2709 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton, VA

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. – Bell ringing at the Netherlands Carillion near the Iwo Jima Memorial (1222 N. Meade Street, Arlington, VA) with Moms Demand Action VA

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. – Bell ringing at the Carillon at Byrd Park (1300 Blanton Avenue Richmond, VA) with Moms Demand Action VA

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. – Bell ringing at Freedom Wall on Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, VA with Charlottesville Coalition for Gun Violence Prevention.

10:00 – 11:30 a.m. – Vigil & protest in front of the NRA headquarters at 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Oakton, VA

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. - Bell ringing at Lee Plaza (1525 Westover Avenue SW Roanoke, VA 24015) with Moms Demand Action VA

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. – Bell ringing at Canal Park, 200 M Street, SE, Washington, DC with Moms Demand Action DC.

Social Media Actions

· On Facebook, change your “hometown” to “Newtown, CT”

· Paint your nails “Sandy Hook Green” and encourage everyone you know, male and female, to do the same. Tweet photos of your green nails with the hashtag #NoMoreNewtowns

· Tweet a photo of your hands holding a sign that says “Remember Newtown” to the VA Representatives who have not co-sponsored the background check bill with the hashtag #RememberNewtown #cosponsor1565. Twitter handles as follows:

@RobWittman

@RepScottRigell

@Randy_Forbes

@RepRobertHurt

@RepGoodlatte

@EricCantor

@RepMGriffith

@RepWOLFPress

Beyond the Vigils, please plan to go to Richmond on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 20^th

We need to have as many people as possible in Richmond on MLK day to represent the majority of Virginians who support responsible gun laws. Please mark this date on your calendar and plan to join mothers, fathers, teachers, law enforcement officers, faith leaders, politicians, activists, andmany more who will gather to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and remember the countless Virginians who have lost their lives to gun violence. We will make our voices heard as the Virginia General Assembly comes back into session and continue to fight for the freedom to live in a world free from gun violence.

Please continue to tell your friends and family to sign up for Virginians for Responsible Gun Laws at www.vrgl.org and, if you haven’t already, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Thank you for all of your hard work and commitment to this cause. There will be more updates to follow as we head into 2014.

Sincerely,

Lori Haas
 

Virginia gun owners should contact their congressman and let them know none of the gun control proposals being pushed by gun ban advocates would have stopped the Newtown shooter and that they should focus on real solutions and not feel good measures.

Gun Ban Advocates Depressed as Federal Efforts Have Stalled

The Hill has the story here.  Just one more story talking about in the lead up to the first year after the Newtown shootings, not much has changed related to federal gun control.

The failed push for stronger federal gun control laws after last December’s shooting rampage in Newtown, Conn., has left its proponents in Congress dejected, and leaves one of President Obama’s top policy goals without any clear path forward.

As in other stories, the gun ban lobby points out they made progress on the state level, though most of that was in states that already all but ban firearms. They keep referring to actions being taken in some 21 states, but for the life of me, I can't recall any major gun control being passed except in New York, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Maryland, Delaware, and Connecticut.  With the exception of Colorado, all of those states were already very unfriendly to the rights of law abiding gun owners.

Gun control advocates say the shooting led to important state reforms, and the White House has touted a series of executive actions to curb violence, but congressional Democrats concede the move toward major federal gun reforms is dead, at least for now.

Other than giving lip service to still supporting gun control measures, the White House has pivoted to mental health, which is where they should have been focused in the first place.

Last month, the administration finalized regulations requiring insurers to treat mental illness and addiction the same as physical illnesses. The measure is intended to ensure better access to treatment for the mentally impaired.

“The fact that less than half of children and adults with diagnosable mental health problems receive the treatment they need is unacceptable,” Biden said Tuesday.

Ultimately, administrative actions were small consolation for proponents of stronger federal laws.

What a Difference a Year Makes

As we approach the one year anniversary (and I really hate using that word since most people associate celebration with an anniversary) of the horrific murders at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a new poll by CNN finds more people (50%-49%) oppose gun control than support it.  Dr. AWR Hawkins of Breitbart News has the story:

CNN Polling Director Keating Holland says the drop in gun control support is due to regional differences: "Demographically speaking, the drop in support for stricter gun laws is mostly based on where people live, with a 10-point decline in the Midwest and a 15-point drop in urban areas having a lot to do with the overall decline nationally."

Support spiked upward after the shooting last year but as time has passed, the number of people supporting new gun control has subsided back to levels seen before December 14, 2012.

Prospects for Federal Gun Control Grow Even Dimmer

The Boston Globe noted over the weekend that the gun ban lobby was hoping the anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December might provide an opening to revisit Manchin/Schumer/Toomey. But others who voted against the bill in April likely feel the way Arizona Senator Jeff Flake does after last week's vote.

Asked if the Colorado recalls made him less likely to switch, Flake said last week, ‘‘I was not prone to do so. I'm comfortable where I am.’’

Flake has been the target of ads paid for by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. MAIG's efforts did not help in Colorado last week and it is likely those being targeted by the group believe they are on the right side of the issue.