Gun maker seeks dismissal of lawsuit over Newtown shooting



BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — Lawyers for the company that made the rifle used to kill 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 are expected to ask a Connecticut judge to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit filed by families of some of the massacre victims.

Freedom Group, the Madison, North Carolina, parent company of AR-15 maker Bushmaster Firearms, says it's protected by a 2005 federal law that shields gun manufacturers from most lawsuits over criminal use of their products.

A Bridgeport Superior Court judge is scheduled to hear arguments Monday afternoon.

The lawsuit by families of nine children and adults who died and a teacher who survived alleges the Bushmaster AR-15 is too dangerous to sell to the public. They say they're suing under an exception to the 2015 law.


 

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