Dave Hardy has the case. Kid gets a hold of dad’s gun, which is safely stored, removes the magazine, and shoots a friend by accident believing he unloaded the gun. The victim’s family sues the gun manufacturer, Beretta, claiming a product liability tort, which is dismissed because it was associated with a criminal act, namely negligence.
Traditionally under product liability law, the manufacturer of a product can be held negligent for defects in design, that are likely to cause injury, in particular, manufacturers are usually required to make their products as safe as possible. But guns are kind of a special instance, in that everyone can be expected to understand that they are dangerous by design.
I don’t think that manufacturers should be required to install magazine disconnects or risk being held negligent. I often call the magazine disconnect the safety feature that isn’t. It might prevent someone who believes a gun is unloaded from discharging it, but it also forces knowledgeable users to do unwise things in order to clean, de-cock, or do various other functions. I don’t consider them a safety enhancement.
