By: Teresa Mull

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled last night that Remington can be sued over the way it marketed the weapon used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012 using a Bushmaster AR-15. USA Today reports that the lawsuit brought by the families of Lanza’s victims “contends that Remington…advertised the gun model in ways that glorified it to young people and that the weapon is inherently dangerous.”

Remington marketed the Bushmaster with the slogan “Consider your man card reissued,” which the plaintiffs in the case claimed “reflected a deliberate effort to appeal to troubled young men like Adam Lanza,” The New York Times reports.

A federal law from 2005 has protected gunmakers from being held liable when their products are used in connection with a crime.

According to the Times:

In the 4-3 ruling, the justices agreed with a lower court judge’s decision to dismiss most of the claims raised by the families, but also found that the sweeping federal protections did not prevent the families from bringing a lawsuit based on wrongful marketing claims. The court ruled that the case can move ahead based on a state law regarding unfair trade practices.

“The regulation of advertising that threatens the public’s health, safety and morals has long been considered a core exercise of the states’ police powers,” Justice Richard Powers wrote in the opinion.

Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine. Contact her at [email protected].