The lawsuit, filed by Ilene Steur and her attorneys, is an initial test of a 2021 New York State law that allows victims of armed violence to sue firearms manufacturers or distributors for their injuries. The arms industry challenged the law as unconstitutional. Last week, a federal district judge upheld that. Steur was one of 10 people shot when Frank James, 62, allegedly opened fire on a Brooklyn subway on the morning of April 12th. Another 19 people were injured in the attack. James allegedly used a 9mm Glock pistol to shoot at least 33 meats on a crowded train, officials said. James has pleaded not guilty to charges of terrorism and weapons.
Steur, 49, was on her way to work when she was shot, according to the lawsuit. As a result, he suffered serious gunshot wounds, with a bullet piercing his buttocks, fractured part of his spine just above his thigh and broke his rectum, his lawyer Sanford said. Rubenstein on CNN.
“She has a colostomy bag and has suffered permanent physical and psychological damage,” Rubenstein said.
The lawsuit was filed when the United States recorded 231 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Arms Violence Archive, which, like CNN, defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people are shot. excluding the shooter. A week is also coming. after an 18-year-old used a legally purchased AR-15-style rifle to kill 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
The demand is aimed at marketing the arms manufacturer
In the lawsuit, Steur’s lawyers argue that Glock’s marketing campaign emphasizes the high capacity and ease of concealing his firearms: an “appeal to potential buyers with criminal intent.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleges that Glock strategically advertises his products through placement in movies and rap music.
The lawsuit also alleges that Glock firearms manufacturers are aware that mass shootings have become “a terrifying but predictable part of modern life,” and knowing this, Glock sells its firearms to the civil market knowing that they could end up in the hands of “individuals”. not suitable for operation “.
CNN contacted Glock Inc. and the National Rifle Association for comment, but received no response.
According to the lawsuit, Steur’s lawyers are calling on the arms manufacturer to “institute and implement policies, practices and programs that eradicate the effects of its past and present illegal marketing and distribution practices,” as well as a financial compensation for “physical activity”. pain and suffering, permanent physical injury, emotional pain, suffering, mental anguish, shame and isolation “derived from the” illegal marketing and distribution practices “of the arms manufacturer.
“Demand … is an effort to hold accountable a victim of a gun manufacturer, whose marketing strategies we allege result in weapons being placed in the hands of those who kill and they mutilate innocent victims, “said Rubenstein, Steur’s lawyer. statement Tuesday. “Those who manufacture and distribute weapons have a moral responsibility to work with the government to end the epidemic of armed violence and mass killings in our county.”