7th Circuit affirms Armslist can't be held liable for bad guys doing bad things
Please see the attached opinion from the U.S.Court of Appeals, No. 13-3505. "Jitka Vesel (“Jitka”) was shot with a handgun that was illegally purchased by Demetry Smirnov who found the weapon available for purchase on Armslist.com (“Armslist”), a website that facilitates the sale of guns between private owners. Alex Vesely (“Alex”) brought this action on her behalf, alleging that Armslist’s negligence in facilitating the sale proximately caused her death."
We hear often about supposed "background check loopholes" and other strained arguments to explain why there are so many assaults and murders in the US. This particular story involves a Russian, who was living in Canada, who drove to Seattle to buy a gun (illegally) and then drove to Chicago to commit a murder (also illegally). Of all the people who did things wrong here, the ones who were sued were the owners of the web site who made the information available.
Isn't this a lot like suing 3M for making the Post-it note that someone writes a death threat with?
If you are a gun owner or might buy or sell a gun someday, please read the attached decision.
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