Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 August 2025
This introduction to the book begins with a narrative of the prevalence of gun violence in the United States and the trafficking of gun violence into Mexico and Latin America. It canvasses the current statistics of gun-related murders, suicides, mass shootings, and school shootings compiled by the CDC, the Pew Research Institute, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Giffords Center, and other agencies collecting gun violence data. The introduction sets forth the themes of the book, including locating the landscape of firearms litigation in the history of mass tort litigation, the ineffectiveness of various gun regulatory initiatives, the historical immunity of the firearms industry from liability for gun harms, and the recent inroads on the ability to sue firearms defendants through the enactment of targeted consumer protection and public nuisance firearms accountability statutes. The introduction suggests the argument that the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement demonstrated that impervious, dangerous product industries could finally be held accountable, and that the Sandy Hook Elementary School litigation marked a pivotal point in opening a pathway toward suing the firearms industry and holding it accountable for gun harms.
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