XPost: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, alt.politics.media, sac.politics   
   XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   Exactly two years after the Uvalde school massacre, families of victims   
   Friday filed multiple state lawsuits in California and Texas against   
   social media giant Meta, Activision — the maker of the popular video game   
   "Call of Duty" — and Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the AR-15 which   
   the teen gunman used in the shooting.   
      
   The wrongful death lawsuits come just two days after the same group of 19   
   families reached a $2 million settlement with the city of Uvalde over the   
   May 24, 2022, Robb Elementary School massacre, which killed 19 students   
   and two teachers.   
      
   One of the two lawsuits was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court   
   against both Activision and Meta – Instagram's parent company. The second   
   lawsuit, against Daniel Defense, was filed in Uvalde District Court.   
      
   The lawsuits were filed by attorney Josh Koskoff, who is also representing   
   the same 19 families who were part of Wednesday's $2 million settlement.   
      
   Friday's lawsuits claim that Instagram, Activision and Daniel Defense have   
   been "partnering…in a scheme that preys upon insecure, adolescent boys,"   
   attorneys said in a news release.   
      
   Attorneys claim that Meta and Activision "enabled and emboldened firearm   
   manufacturers' efforts to expand the market for their weapons by granting   
   unprecedented, direct and 24/7 access to children."   
      
   The lawsuits allege that the gunman, on his 18th birthday, purchased the   
   AR-15 used in the Uvalde shooting because "he was targeted and cultivated   
   online by Instagram, Activision and Daniel Defense. This three-headed   
   monster knowingly exposed him to the weapon, conditioned him to see it as   
   a tool to solve his problems and trained him to use it," Koskoff said in a   
   statement.   
      
   According to the lawsuits, the Uvalde gunman downloaded "Call of Duty:   
   Modern Warfare" in November 2021, and had been playing previous iterations   
   of "Call of Duty" since he was 15 years old. The video game prominently   
   features a model of the AR-15, known as DDM4V7, that was used in the   
   shooting, the lawsuits allege.   
      
   "Simultaneously, on Instagram, the shooter was being courted through   
   explicit, aggressive marketing," attorneys said. "In addition to hundreds   
   of images depicting and venerating the thrill of combat, Daniel Defense   
   used Instagram to extol the illegal, murderous use of its weapons."   
      
   On April 27, 2022, attorneys say, the gunman created an account with   
   Daniel Defense and added a DDM4V7 to his online cart. Then on May 16,   
   2022, just 23 minutes after midnight on his 18th birthday, he purchased   
   the weapon — just eight days before the Uvalde shooting.   
      
   In an interview with CBS News Friday, Koskoff said that the two lawsuits   
   are "working in concert with each other."   
      
   "Instagram creates a connection between …an adolescent …and the gun and a   
   gun company," Koskoff said. "And nobody exploited Instagram for this   
   purpose more than Daniel Defense. If Instagram can prevent people from   
   posting pictures of their private parts, they can prevent people from   
   posting pictures of an AR-15. And of course, Instagram doesn't care. They   
   don't care. All they care about is driving traffic and generating   
   attention, drawing attention and getting their ad revenue."   
      
   In a statement provided to CBS News, an Activision spokesperson said the   
   "Uvalde shooting was horrendous and heartbreaking in every way, and we   
   express our deepest sympathies to the families and communities who remain   
   impacted by this senseless act of violence. Millions of people around the   
   world enjoy video games without turning to horrific acts."   
      
   CBS News has also reached out to Meta and Daniel Defense for comment on   
   the litigation.   
      
   The same group of families also said Wednesday they are filing a $500   
   million federal lawsuit against nearly 100 state police officers who took   
   part in the botched law enforcement response to the shooting, along with   
   former Robb Elementary School principal Mandy Gutierrez and Pete   
   Arredondo, the school district's police chief who was fired months after   
   the shooting.   
      
   An extensive 575-page Justice Department report released in January   
   determined there were a series of "cascading failures" in the law   
   enforcement response that day. The report said that 77 minutes elapsed   
   from when law enforcement first arrived on the scene, to when the suspect   
   was confronted and killed.   
      
   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uvalde-shooting-families-wrongful-death-   
   lawsuit-meta-activision-daniel-defense/   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)