Lawsuit Over Las Vegas Shooting Tests Gun Industry’s Immunity
One crucial issue is whether the gun itself is mechanically altered.
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Last week’s massacre at a Las Vegas country music festival offers gun control advocates a fresh chance to test a law, put in place by Republicans and the gun industry’s lobby, that protects the industry from liability for the criminal actions of some of their customers.
Starting with a lawsuit filed late last week in Nevada state court, the effort follows similar litigation over mass killings, most notably those of 20 elementary school children and six adults in Newtown, Conn. In most cases, the plaintiffs fail to overcome the law’s high bar for liability, but with the Harvest 91 Festival, where almost 60 died and more than 500 were injured, that pattern may shift.