Court rules lawsuit can continue against Armslist

Court rules lawsuit can continue against Armslist

Image via the New York Post

We originally posted about Armslist here. Armslist is known as ‘the craigslist of guns’ as it allows private sales of guns between owners and buyers. The site is not without controversy as it has been seen by some as an avenue of illegal gun sales. In many states, private gun sales do not need a background check to be completed. This has led to a number of criminals circumventing the background checks by using Armslist to obtain their firearms. Much like Backpage used to, Armslist has been held relatively harmless in these matters due to the Communications Decency Act of 1996. However, a recent court ruling may see Armslist lose that protection.

In 2012, Radcliffe Haughton stormed his estranged wife’s workplace in Brookfield, Wisconsin, shooting and killing his wife, Zina Daniel Haughton, and two other victims before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life. Haughton had a domestic violence injunction against him which prevented him from legally owning a gun. He is said to have purchased the gun used in the killings off of Armslist in order to evade any kind of background check. Zina’s daughter, Yasmeen Daniel, had previously tried to sue Armslist for their role in facilitating the gun sale but the suit was dismissed due to the CDA which stated that Armslist was not responsible for what their users may or may not do. Yesterday, However, the Court of Appeals reinstated the lawsuit stating that it can be argued that Armslist is designed to facilitate illegal gun sales.

Again, all Armslist does to discourage illegal gun sales is to make users click on a button that says they’re over 18 and they’re legally able to purchase a gun and that’s it. While that may be enough to legally absolve them from any wrongdoing it doesn’t absolve them from the fact that by allegedly turning a blind eye to illegal sales there is blood on their hands.