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Boston officer’s lawsuit targets online gun marketplace - ArmsList


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Full story at the link - https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/10/18/boston-officer-lawsuit-targets-online-gun-marketplace/weL6IW0WtuQnXJr3YQwL2N/amp.html

 

By Michael Levenson Globe Staff October 18, 2018

Armslist bills itself as an online firearms marketplace — “a gun show that never ends,” in the words of its cofounder — where buyers and sellers can easily conduct private transactions through classified-style ads.

But a Boston police officer who was shot and injured by a Glock handgun purchased through the website alleges the company is effectively running an unregulated online bazaar where felons and other dangerous people buy and sell guns illegally.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court, Officer Kurt Stokinger details how a New Hampshire woman used Armslist to buy 30 to 63 guns, including the Glock that she later sold to Grant Headley, the convicted felon who allegedly shot Stokinger in Dorchester in January 2016.

Armslist only facilitates private sales, so it is not required to conduct background checks like traditional brick-and-mortar stores.

It was established after Amazon, Craigslist, and eBay stopped selling guns online because the companies recognized it was too dangerous, said Jonathan E. Lowy, an attorney at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, who is representing Stokinger, 39, and his wife, Janella.

“Officer Stokinger almost lost his life because a dangerous felon who should never have had a gun was able to get one, and the reason why he was able to get one was largely because of the irresponsible conduct of Armslist.com,” Lowy said.

Stokinger and his wife are seeking monetary damages as well as changes in how Armslist does business, Lowy said.

 

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a New Hampshire woman used Armslist to buy 30 to 63 guns, including the Glock that she later sold to Grant Headley

 

So instead of going after the unnamed woman that actually sold the firearm illegally they are going to go after the market place that legally sold the gun to her... Makes no sense at all.

 

This is why they SHOULD lose the case if it were tried. ASSUMING the NH women was/is a legal buyer, where is Armslist's liability? What have they done wrong, by the law?

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a New Hampshire woman used Armslist to buy 30 to 63 guns, including the Glock that she later sold to Grant Headley

 

So instead of going after the unnamed woman that actually sold the firearm illegally they are going to go after the market place that legally sold the gun to her... Makes no sense at all.

 

They went after her and her partner as well.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nh/pr/manchester-woman-pleads-guilty-federal-firearms-charges

https://www.atf.gov/news/pr/manchester-man-sentened-14-years-prison-illegal-possession-firearms

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... ASSUMING the NH women was/is a legal buyer, where is Armslist's liability? What have they done wrong, by the law?

Potentially criminal facilitation, but ...

 

I thought if you were nothing more than a 'platform' for others to use, you couldn't be held liable.

Online services which are not a party to a transaction (merely providing listings provided by posters, e.g.) are given "safe harbor." It's a specific provision of the Communications Decency Act.

 

Even sex trafficking is provided a safe harbor if the online lister didn't know the listing was for an illegal transaction. [insert the Cody Wilson/SugarDaddyMeet thread here. I'm too lazy to look up the thread ID.]

 

In this case, the listing was for an entirely legal transaction, which was subsequently completed entirely legally.

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a New Hampshire woman used Armslist to buy 30 to 63 guns, including the Glock that she later sold to Grant Headley

 

So instead of going after the unnamed woman that actually sold the firearm illegally they are going to go after the market place that legally sold the gun to her... Makes no sense at all.

 

They went after her and her partner as well.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nh/pr/manchester-woman-pleads-guilty-federal-firearms-charges

https://www.atf.gov/news/pr/manchester-man-sentened-14-years-prison-illegal-possession-firearms

 

Yea, she looks like she needed to get caught. She looked to be a straw purchaser for profit.

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