Do ads for constitutionally protected products that are factual and in no way incite violence bear responsibility for a criminal’s actions? Even if there is no confirmation that the individual was ever exposed to the marketing?
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and National Rifle Association (NRA) want the U.S. Supreme Court to settle what should be an open-and-shut issue. On Friday, the two advocacy groups filed a joint amicus brief urging the high court to step in and grant review.
Review of a case that should never have advanced this far–but it has.
Lawsuit that should have faded away now has new life
In 2022, a madman from Virginia fired over 200 rounds from across the street from a Washington, D.C. school, injuring four before taking his own life. One survivor and her daughter sued Daniel Defense over its firearm advertising.
They used Virginia’s False Advertising Statute and Consumer Protection Act to justify the legal action. A district court dismissed the claims, which did not even allege that the violent criminal saw the ads listed in the filing.
That should have been that, but it wasn’t.
High court asked to accept apparent gun rights case that crosses into First Amendment territory
Instead, the Fourth Circuit resuscitated the lawsuit by accepting that the shooter may have been “exposed to and influenced by” Daniel Defense’s perfectly legal marketing.
The NRA told the errant court that “this is a case about free speech dressed up as a case about firearms.” While the violent incident, which could have been much worse was tragic, the answer is not to censor advertising and First Amendment-protected actions.
The hope is that the high court will grant review in Daniel Defense, LLC v. Lowy and prevent the weapons industry from being held liable for ads that feature personal readiness, military, and law-enforcement imagery.
The alternative is to expose every weapons manufacturer and retailer to an endless flood of lawfare that would drive the industry into the ground. If that happens, the right to keep and bear arms as we know it will be a fleeting memory.
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