Schneiderman’s backdoor attack on Remington

A group of State Attorney’s General, including Eric Schneiderman, have filed a brief asserting the deal Remington made to correct “defective” rifles poses a threat to public safety:

“… This week, a group of attorneys general from 11 states fired back at a competing coalition that claims the settlement with Remington Arms Co. threatens public safety. Under the deal, owners of 7.5 million model 700 series rifles would get retrofits or refunds to fix an alleged defect that causes the rifle to unintentionally fire. But only 0.29 percent of class members have submitted claims, a claims rate that’s become the target of class notice critics. That means that most of the gun owners aren’t even aware their rifles could cause deaths and injuries, according to an amicus brief filed last month by 10 states, including Massachusetts, California, New York, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia …”

Their beef is that Remington’s statement to stop using the rifles in question until they have been inspected is not enough.

The response from the Alabama A.G. is spot on:

“… Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall blasted the group of “liberal AGs” for trying to “inject firearms regulation” into the settlement, which resolves class actions brought over economic damages, not injuries or deaths. “The criticisms Massachusetts and its companion states have lodged are not grounded in any concern about boosting the plaintiffs’ economic recovery, but are instead an unwarranted effort to use this litigation to achieve other policy goals about firearms regulation in general,” Marshall wrote in an amicus brief unsealed Wednesday …”

The entire Remington trigger lawsuit seemed funny from the start.  If there was a serious problem, like with the new SIGs, it would be all over the internet and I have not seen that.