Source: Washington Post
December 7, 2023 at 5:00 a.m. EST
A coalition of Catholic nuns has filed a lawsuit against gunmaker Smith & Wesson, calling for the company to stop producing AR-style rifles, which the women claim are “the weapon of choice for numerous mass murderers.”
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a Nevada district court, alleges that Smith & Wesson has repeatedly ignored “red flags” and failed to respond appropriately to mass shootings in the United States. The lawsuit references some of the deadliest mass killings in recent U.S. history — including at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., in 2012; a high school in Parkland, Fla., in 2018; and an elementary school in Uvalde, Tex., in 2022.
Smith & Wesson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening. Lawrence Keane of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade group for gunmakers, described the lawsuit as “frivolous” in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “This same group has been filing shareholder proposals and losing so I guess they’re trying a new tactic,” he told the paper.
The nuns, who represent four congregations, said in a joint statement on Tuesday that AR-style rifles “have stolen the lives of so many innocent people and devastated communities across the nation.” They added that, as Smith & Wesson stockholders, they have supported resolutions for the company to explain to shareholders the “exposure to risk and liability” pertaining to its manufacturing of AR-style rifles. “These rifles have no purpose other than mass murder,” the statement read. “They are not the sporting rifles that members of our own families and other responsible gun owners value.”
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/12/07/smith-wesson-catholic-nuns-lawsuit/
December 7, 2023 at 5:00 a.m. EST
A coalition of Catholic nuns has filed a lawsuit against gunmaker Smith & Wesson, calling for the company to stop producing AR-style rifles, which the women claim are “the weapon of choice for numerous mass murderers.”
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a Nevada district court, alleges that Smith & Wesson has repeatedly ignored “red flags” and failed to respond appropriately to mass shootings in the United States. The lawsuit references some of the deadliest mass killings in recent U.S. history — including at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., in 2012; a high school in Parkland, Fla., in 2018; and an elementary school in Uvalde, Tex., in 2022.
Smith & Wesson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening. Lawrence Keane of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade group for gunmakers, described the lawsuit as “frivolous” in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “This same group has been filing shareholder proposals and losing so I guess they’re trying a new tactic,” he told the paper.
The nuns, who represent four congregations, said in a joint statement on Tuesday that AR-style rifles “have stolen the lives of so many innocent people and devastated communities across the nation.” They added that, as Smith & Wesson stockholders, they have supported resolutions for the company to explain to shareholders the “exposure to risk and liability” pertaining to its manufacturing of AR-style rifles. “These rifles have no purpose other than mass murder,” the statement read. “They are not the sporting rifles that members of our own families and other responsible gun owners value.”
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/12/07/smith-wesson-catholic-nuns-lawsuit/
