Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
LAS VEGAS, NV –-(Ammoland.com)- The anti-gun Brady Organization is funding a Nevada lawsuit against the Korean company Kyung Chang Industry Co. LTD (KCI) and KCI USA over the company’s magazines.
The lawsuit stems from an August 2019 mass murder that took place in Dayton, Ohio. In that mass murder, a far-leftist killer murdered nine people and injured 17 others before being killed by police. The killer used a KCI magazine and an AR-15 style pistol. Since the magazine held more than ten rounds, the families claim it made the shooter “deadlier,” and KCI USA was negligent for selling the magazines.
The lawsuit starts by quoting Bill Ruger’s infamous statement that “no honest man needs more than ten rounds” and that he “never intended for simple civilians” to have his “20- or 30-round magazines….”
Bill Ruger retired from the company he helped found in 2000. Since that time, Sturm, Ruger & Company have continued to produce AR15s and market 30-round magazines to the public, splitting from the ideas of Bill Ruger. The company currently supports the right of all Americans to own magazines of any size. The complaint doesn’t mention the company’s current stance on magazines.
The target of the lawsuit is KCI for producing and selling 100-round drum magazines.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers argue that these magazines do not have a legit purpose for hunting or self-defense. It claims that the only purpose anyone would buy a 100-round drum magazine is to commit a mass killing. Nowhere in the complaint does it mention that the right to bear arms and the Second Amendment does not have to do with hunting or self-defense. It was about being able to defend against a tyrannical government.
The case makes an emotional argument by calling the magazine an “instrument of slaughter” and says that KCI needed the Dayton killer to “accomplish their mission-to make as much money as possible.” The argument is not back up by the evidence. The lawsuit calls KCI reckless for selling the magazines. It highlights that the Dayton killer fired 41 rounds. It insinuates that without the drum magazine that the death toll would have been lower. There is no scientific data that backs up that claim.
The suit claims that the company’s magazines are “unreasonably dangerous firearms accessories which are designed to enable unlawful mass shootings like the attack when sold to civilians.” The lawyers argue the only people in the “civilian market who need LCMs are mass killers.” Out of the millions of magazines sold that hold more than ten rounds, only a fraction has been used in crimes. AmmoLand News has only been able to locate three cases where a mass killer used a 100-round drum, and in one case, the drum magazine caused the firearm to jam.
The plaintiffs also claim that the defendants should have exercised the “highest degree of reasonable care.” This argument centers on the Brady Organization’s belief that KCI’s products don’t benefit lawful gun owners. It claims that KCI needed to have protocols that prevented their magazines from falling into the hands of mass murders. It doesn’t mention background checks, but that seems to be insinuated in the case.
The plaintiffs also claim that KCI knew that selling their products would “result in a mass shooting.” Some gun-rights activists point out that this argument is like saying that Ford shouldn’t sell cars because someone might drink and drive. It shifts the blame from the actual criminal to a tool that the murderer used. Gun rights activists point out that hammers have a higher chance of being used in murder than a 100-round drum. They ask if the Brady Organization is going to start suing Craftsmen.
The lawyers argue that KCI USA “directly and foreseeably channeled the magazine to the shooter.” They attack KCI USA under this argument for producing the 100-round drum magazine. It also attacks KCI USA because its products can be purchased online, and KCI USA has a button that helps people find websites that sell its magazines.
The lawyers for the plaintiffs have asked the court to award its clients monetary damages and attorney’s fees. They also ask the court for an injunction against KCI USA to prevent the company from selling its 100-round magazine.
There is no court date set. KCI and KCI USA did not respond to AmmoLand’s request for comment.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.