Nine families who lost their loved ones, victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, were given a 73$ million settlement from Remington Arms Co., the weapons manufacturer of the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle used by Adam Lanza in the shooting. 20 first-graders and six educators passed away as a result at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut on Dec. 4, 2012.

David Wheeler, the father of a victim in the Sandy Hook shooting, talked about his first-grade son and Remington Arms during his informative speech on why arms manufacturers should be held responsible for his son’s death. Wheeler has done research on Remington Arms and has specifically noticed that the advertisements’ target audience is directed towards young men. He also notes that gun industries focus on making a profit and forget about who they are selling their guns to.

“One of the reasons Ben is not here is because some people made a decision driven by an increased desire for profits and a fear of a shrinking market share, to focus on advertising for young men, to sell them their product. The most intentional, lethal, consumer product our species have ever devised,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler ended up building a lawsuit with other victims in the Sandy Hook shooting which was created to put a spotlight on Remington Arms. Wheeler wanted to emphasize that the gun manufacturer should be held responsible for the mass shooting.

After the case was settled, Remington Arms had to sell its assets to several companies after declaring Bankruptcy in 2020. It has been the first time that a gun manufacturer has lost such a case after a school shooting.

Remington Arms lost the lawsuit based on how they market their guns and military weapons to citizens. Victims of the Sandy Hook shooting used Remington Arms’ marketing strategy to their advantage to win the settlement. The lawsuit against Remington Arms has helped expose the issue of gun violence in schools.

It has unfortunately become a common American tragedy for mass shootings to happen in schools. The gunman in the Sandy Hook shooting, Adam Lanza, started shooting at 9:41 am while children were celebrating Christmas on December 14, 2012. The elementary students stayed close to each other to make each other feel safe, while the shooting happened. They had to wait underneath desks and away from the door until the police told them it was okay to go in the hallway.

Ashley, a Sandy Hook survivor described how she left the building.

“When they finally opened the door, the police came and got us, and they told us to line up, and put our hands on the person in front of us’ shoulders, and close our eyes, and then they led us out of the building,” she stated.

Military weapons being sold to civilians is an issue on display, with 350 mass shootings since the Sandy Hook shooting. The lawsuit has given an opportunity to see a possible change in gun access to young adults to ensure children and educators can live in safer communities.