Good morning, Bulletin readers. Sandy Hook families face yet another delay in their lawsuit seeking to hold Remington accountable for its militaristic marketing. Another Democratic 2020 candidate has released a sweeping gun reform platform. And one more multiple-casualty shooting scars Baltimore.
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WHAT TO KNOW TODAY
Remington has been granted a stay in the lawsuit filed by Sandy Hook families. The procedural move comes as the gun manufacturer plans to appeal the suit to the U.S. Supreme Court. What it means in practice is that the company will not yet have to open its books for discovery. The lawyer representing the Sandy Hook families said the move is “in line with the delaying legal tactics that we have dealt with all along.” From The Trace archives: Back in March, contributor Olivia Li predicted that the case might be put on hold as the defendants prep a plea to SCOTUS.
Cory Booker pitches a federal standard for gun ownership. The New Jersey senator and presidential candidate released a slate of gun reforms that he vows to implement via executive action if elected. At the core is a gun licensing program that would require prospective gun owners to submit fingerprints and pass a safety course. This is what a “permit-to-purchase” system looks like in action: Lessons from Massachusetts, which has both strict vetting for gun buyers and one of the nation’s lowest gun death rates.
Republican state legislators are using a technicality to try to block enactment of Colorado’s new red flag law. Colorado’s Constitution requires that bills be read aloud on the legislative floor if a member requests it and a state judge recently ruled that that must be done in “an intelligible and comprehensive manner.” In this case, GOP legislators say the bill was read aloud by multiple clerks at the same time. Other legal challenges loom: Plaintiffs, including state representatives and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, also say they plan to file a suit disputing the substance of the bill, which would allow family, household members, or police to petition to have a gun owner’s weapons taken away, and would require those gun owners to show that they are no longer a risk in order to get their guns back.
A Florida man is facing charges for firing his gun at teenagers playing in their neighborhood pool. The man, a member of the homeowners’ association, chastised the teens for not following rules that had recently changed, though signage around the pool hadn’t been updated. When the teens ignored his reprimands and adhered to the posted rules, the man pulled out a revolver and fired a shot into the ground. After reviewing pool security footage, police charged the man with aggravated assault and discharging a gun in public.
There were nine mass shootings over the weekend, leaving at least four people dead and 35 wounded. That’s according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people were injured or killed. In one incident in South Baltimore on Friday evening, a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old were wounded, along with three adults.
A 10-year-old in Texas was fatally shot by his 12-year-old sibling, who has been charged with homicide. The shooting happened on Saturday afternoon on a rural property south of Houston, according to officials. The child died of a gunshot wound to the chest, which police believe was inflicted by his older sibling, whose identity has not yet been released. Authorities have not yet said how the 12-year-old was able to access a gun.
ONE LAST THING
Parkland schools will abstain from arming teachers. Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the bill that will allow armed teachers over objections from youth activists and law enforcement officials — including his own appointee, Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony, who warned that the law is “likely to create a tragic scenario where innocent people can get injured or killed.” But in Parkland and the surrounding area, schools are saying “thanks but no thanks” to this putative effort to protect them: Last year, Broward County passed a resolution banning teachers from carrying weapons, and Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County’s respective superintendents both said last week that they believe school security should be left in the hands of law enforcement.
