In a historic settlement, gun manufacturer Remington has agreed to a $73 million payout to settle allegations that they were culpable in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The mass shooting claimed the lives of 20 kindergarteners and first-graders and six educators.

On Tuesday, the families of nine of the victims took turns expressing their feelings on the settlement. Nicole Hockley, whose son was only six years old when he died, shared during the press conference, “My hope for this lawsuit is that by facing and finally being penalized for the impact of their work, gun companies along with the insurance and banking industries that enable them will be forced to make their practices safer than they’ve ever been, which will save lives and stop more shootings.”

Another parent, Veronica de La Rosa, mother of 6-year-old Noah Pozner, shared in a moving statement that the settlement marked “an inflection point when our duty of care to our children as a society finally supersedes the bottom line of an industry that made such an atrocity of Sandy Hook possible to begin with.” She adds, “Today is a day of accountability for an industry that has thus far enjoyed operating with immunity and impunity and for this I am grateful.”

The settlement largely focused on the parents' desire to have information about how Remington marketed their guns released to the public. The parents involved did not want to move forward with the settlement until agreements that those details would be released were approved. The parents voiced that release of the information was critical as it could help curb gun violence in the nation’s schools.

Some of these details about the marketing practices include the negligent manner in which Remington marketed their Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle, the rifle which was used by the Newtown shooter at Sandy Hook. The lawsuit alleged that these negligent marketing practices helped contribute to the disastrous events that fateful day.

It was these arguments about negligent marketing that propelled the civil court case against Remington. Throughout the case, the gun manufacturer consistently argued that there was no evidence to show that their marketing contributed to the shooting. However, in one of Remington's ads, an image of the Bushmaster XM15-E2S with the caption “Consider your man card reissued” was entered as evidence. The lawsuit alleged that with ads like this, the gun maker targeted young men who were often angry and prone to violence.

The settlement marks the first time a gun manufacturer has agreed to a settlement due to liability because of a mass shooting.

Before the settlement, Remington had maintained that the lawsuit should have long been dismissed because of a federal law that offers broad immunity to the gun industry. Under the protections of the Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, the gun industry is shielded with broad protection from being held accountable for harm caused by their products. The law was enacted in 2005 after intense lobbying by gun groups pushed for laws that would shield both gun dealers and gun manufacturers from civil litigation.

Despite this legal shield, this historic settlement proved successful because the Connecticut Supreme Court allowed parents of the victims lost at Sandy Hook to go after the gun manufacturers' marketing tactics. After Remington appealed the case to the US Supreme Court, the high court declined to hear the case.

As a response to this historic settlement, President Biden doubled down on the gun industry and called on Congress to repeal the immunity laws.

It's unclear how this settlement will impact other gun manufacturers and similar lawsuits brought about due to mass shootings. However, the settlement has shed a light on gun manufacturer accountability after a mass shooting.

This settlement is yet another stain on one of the nation's oldest gun manufacturers. Remington was established in 1816, and it was not until 2020 that they filed for bankruptcy for a second time. Following the shooting, Remington has been plagued with controversy largely because of the shooting at Sandy Hook.