Petition Immediate State Of Connecticut Recorded: Fill & Download for Free

Here’s information that will describe what you need to do. It would be good for you to take pictures of the bruises so you can give them to the court/Judge. If you can, record him yelling or whatever he does that is verbally abusive.If he is threatening your life, then call 911 immediately. Also, call the other numbers below and they will tell you what your rights are and what you can do.Do you have a relative that could let you live with them? Above all, stay safe and see if there is a relative who could take you in.POLICE 911SOCIAL WORKER: 1-844-796-6283CHILD ABUSE PROTECTION HOTLINE: (800) 540-4000A Teenager's Guide to EmancipationWhat is emancipation?Emancipation is a legal process that gives a teenager who is 16 or 17 legal independence from their parents or guardians. Emancipation can be an important legal tool for certain teenagers, but you should give it careful thought before moving ahead.Who can be emancipated?linkTo be emancipated by the court under Connecticut law, you must be at least 16 years old and reside in the State of Connecticut. You must also meet one of the following conditions:You are married (or were married).You are on active duty in the U.S. armed forces.You are willingly living apart from your parents or guardian (with or without their consent) and you are managing your own money.The court decides that emancipation is in the best interest of you, your parents, or your child (if you have one).How can I become emancipated?linkEither you or your parents can start the emancipation process. The person who starts the process must file a Petition for Emancipation (#JD-JM-90) form with the court. If you need a lawyer to start this process or you need to defend yourself and you cannot afford a lawyer, the juvenile court or probate court may appoint one for you at no charge.There will be a hearing within 30 days in front of a judge to talk about the emancipation petition. Only a judge can order an emancipation.What rights does an emancipated teenager have?linkWhen you become emancipated, you have legal rights that other teenagers do not have. You also have new responsibilities that most teenagers don’t have to worry about. You should weigh these rights and responsibilities carefully as you think about emancipation. If you are emancipated:You can get your own place to live, but you will have to pay the rent and other living costs.You can get medical care without your parents' permission, but you will have to pay the bills or get financial help in paying them.You can sign contracts in your own name, and you must live up to the contract.You can sue other people, and you can also be sued.You are no longer under the control of your parents, and they won’t be required to give you money, food, clothing, or shelter.The State of Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) will no longer be responsible for helping you if you are abused or neglected. But you are entitled to the same protection by the police as any other person, including the right to be protected from violence by a family or household member.You can buy and sell property.You can register a car, get a driver's license or marriage license or join the armed services without your parents' permission.You can enroll in a school or college of your choice without asking your parents.You can get a certified copy of a birth certificate.How can I decide?linkEmancipation is a major decision that can help a mature teenager live a more independent life if they are getting little help from their parents. But emancipation can also cause hard feelings within a family. It is sometimes possible for a teenager to get the needed relief and help without taking this step.For example:If you need some relief from family problems, you might be able to stay with a friend or in a youth shelter for a while. Most youth shelters will need your parents’ permission to let you stay overnight. You may want to talk to a trusted counselor or teacher.If your parents made you leave home and they won’t let you come back or it would be dangerous for you to go back, you may be able to get financial help even if you are not emancipated. What you apply for depends on your situation:If you are pregnant or have your child living with you and you live with a relative, you can apply for Temporary Family Assistance (TFA) from the Department of Social Services (DSS). Your relative will have to receive the check for you. Also, you will be sent to a DSS social worker for further help. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) may be asked to help as well.If you are not pregnant, you don’t have a child living with you, and you are living with a relative, you may also be eligible for TFA. Again, your relative must receive the check for you.If you are pregnant or have your child living with you and you live with an adult who is not a relative, you will qualify for TFA assistance only if that adult is your legal guardian or they are applying for legal guardianship. You may also be eligible if you live in a supervised living arrangement such as a group home. Only in very rare cases can a pregnant or parenting teen live on her own and get a TFA check.An unemancipated minor who doesn’t live with a relative or other adult legal guardian is probably not eligible for any cash assistance. For example, if you are staying with your friend’s family for a while but they don’t want to be your legal guardian, you probably won’t qualify for cash assistance.If you are emancipated, you may qualify for State Administered General Assistance (SAGA). A SAGA payment is only $200 per month. Any other income you have will reduce this amount, dollar for dollar, except that the first $150 you earn each month will not count in determining your SAGA award. You can apply for SAGA at your local DSS office.NOTE: Many teenagers in these situations are eligible for HUSKY medical insurance and food stamps, even if they do not qualify for cash assistance.How will your parents react?linkEven when you are having trouble with your parents, they may be concerned about you and want to help you. Going to court to be emancipated may be very hurtful to your parents. You should think about the effect of emancipation on you and your family.If possible, sit down and discuss the problems with your parents before you file the petition.Sometimes it may not be possible to talk with your parents. You may have already left home. If you are not living at home, your parent could ask the police to find you.If the police find you, they can tell your parent where you are. Before they do that, the police must first make sure that telling your parent where you are wouldn't hurt you in some way. The police can also drive you home or to another place such as another relative's home or to the Department of Children and Families. The police could also hold you for up to 12 hours while they decide what would be the best step to take.Finally, the police can also report you to the Juvenile Court. At the Juvenile Court, a judge will decide if you are a runaway, truant from school, or beyond your parent's control. If the judge decides you are or have done one of these things, you might be ordered to go to school, get a job, get counseling, or give up driving a car for a while.Can you support yourself?linkOnce you are emancipated, your parents no longer have to pay your bills. You will be responsible for rent, food, medical bills, and clothing. If you have a baby, you will have to pay for the things the child needs. Until you turn 18 years old, you will nearly always be required to live with an adult in order to get financial assistance from the government.Even if you qualify for financial assistance, the money you get may not be enough to pay bills. If you have a job, think about whether your paycheck will cover all your costs.Will you want to go back to your family?linkEmancipation usually cannot be undone. Think carefully about whether you may want to go back to your family at some point, or if you are really sure that you want to live on your own from now on. Are your problems with your family just temporary, or do you want to make a permanent break with your parents?You may find it helpful to talk privately with a lawyer about emancipation. You can call Statewide Legal Services (800-453-3320) or apply for a lawyer at the nearest Juvenile Court. Statewide Legal Services can provide you with some phone numbers to call for help.Where to get helplinkFor information on state welfare assistance (Temporary Family Assistance) visit the State of Connecticut, Department of Social Services web site.Call or visit 2-1-1Department of Children and Families Careline: 1-800-842-2288Child Support Information Hotline: 1-800-228-5437This article was produced by Connecticut Legal Services, Greater Hartford Legal Aid, New Haven Legal Assistance Association, and Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut.Get Help From Legal AidAge 60+: Get help from legal aid.Under age 60: Find legal help or apply online.Not from Connecticut? Find help in another state.

Opey, Opey, Opey,Get around the Constitution. Are you sure you want to do that? Once you find that path it can be used on all other Constitutional matters.Since you apparently aren’t familiar with the Constitution or Bill of Rights I’ve used a lot of space to quote them for your pleasure. Please feel free to circle the ones you want to get around. You also can read it and see how to get things done within the Constitution. (After all America did have Prohibition for a while and that worked out well didn’t it?)Perhaps you would be kind enough to write the US a new Constitution.The Constitution of the United States of America:[1]We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence (sic), promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.Article. I.Section. 1.All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.Section. 2.The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse (sic) three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.The House of Representatives shall chuse (sic)their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.Section. 3.The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore (sic), in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.Section. 4.The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing (sic) Senators.The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.Section. 5.Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour (sic), and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.Section. 6.The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased (sic) during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.Section. 7.All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed (sic) by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.Section. 8.The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence (sic) and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;To establish Post Offices and post Roads;To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;To define and punish Piracies (sic) and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;To provide and maintain a Navy;To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;—AndTo make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.Section. 9.The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.Section. 10.No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul(sic) of the Congress.No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.Article. II.Section. 1.The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as followsEach State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse (sic) by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse(sic) the President. But in chusing (sic) the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse (sic) from them by Ballot the Vice President.The Congress may determine the Time of chusing(sic) the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased (sic) nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."Section. 2.The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.Section. 3.He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.Section. 4.The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.Article III.Section. 1.The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour (sic), and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.Section. 2.The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;—to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;—to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;—to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;—to Controversies between two or more States;— between a State and Citizens of another State,—between Citizens of different States,—between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.Section. 3.Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted (sic).Article. IV.Section. 1.Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.Section. 2.The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.No Person held to Service or Labour (sic) in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour (sic), but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour (sic) may be due.Section. 3.New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.Section. 4.The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.Article. V.The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.Article. VI.All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.Article. VII.The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.The Word, "the," being interlined between the seventh and eighth Lines of the first Page, The Word "Thirty" being partly written on an Erazure (sic) in the fifteenth Line of the first Page, The Words "is tried" being interlined between the thirty second and thirty third Lines of the first Page and the Word "the" being interlined between the forty third and forty fourth Lines of the second Page.Attest William Jackson Secretarydone in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independance (sic) of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,The Bill of Rights:[2]The U.S. Bill of RightsThe Preamble to The Bill of RightsCongress of the United Statesbegun and held at the City of New-York, onWednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.Note: The following text is a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights."Amendment ICongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.Amendment IIA well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.Amendment IIINo Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.Amendment IVThe right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.Amendment VNo person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.Amendment VIIn all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.Amendment VIIIn Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.Amendment VIIIExcessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.Amendment IXThe enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.Amendment XThe powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.Best get to work, you gotta lot to do.CiaoFootnotes[1] The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription[2] The Bill of Rights: A Transcription

This answer may contain sensitive images. Click on an image to unblur it.The Sandy Hook lawsuit is nothing new, as far as tactics to restrict guns. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, squarely in the crosshairs (NPI) of Congressional Democrats, was passed specifically to prevent this abuse of the judicial system.Gun control advocates’ strategy, in the late 90s and early 2000s, was to make it impractical to manufacture firearms in the United States, by attaching class-action liability to those manufacturers for producing guns used in crimes. To that end, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley filed suit on behalf of his city and the mayors of 30 other cities against Smith & Wesson (publicly held and in a weak financial position at the time) alongside several other gun manufacturers for costs related to the response, investigation and mitigation of gun-related crimes in those cities, totaling in the tens of billions of dollars.On its face, this allegation is ludicrous; gun manufacturers have absolutely zero control over who uses, or misuses, their product. That is in fact by Federal law; gun manufacturers cannot sell directly to customers, even within the state of manufacture; they have to be transferred to a Type 1 FFL (retailer) who can then sell to the customer. So the gun manufacturer has a layer of indirection, which they cannot directly influence, between themselves and the customer.Even if gun manufacturers could directly sell to end users, the gun is designed to fire a bullet. At what, or whom, that bullet is aimed, and for what purpose, are the sole purview of the gun’s handler at the moment it is fired. Suing Remington (owner of the Bushmaster brand) for a shooting committed with their rifle would be exactly analogous to suing Chrysler-Fiat for the use of one of their Dodge Chargers to run over 20 people in Charlottesville, or Home Depot or Ford for the use of one of HD’s rental trucks to run over 19 people in New York.Neither the manufacturer nor the seller/renter has any direct control over how their product is (mis)used. They are liable for the product failing to perform as designed and intended (design/manufacturing defects), and they are liable when a product, used as intended, harms the person who buys it (tobacco, pharma). Further down the chain, retailers are liable for giving the product to those either prohibited by law or who can be reasonably foreseen to be harmed or cause harm (serving alcohol to minors, continuing to serve a drunk person, selling lottery tickets to a gambling addict). A manufacturer’s responsibility for an unrelated third party’s misuse of their product, however, is a legal non-starter.However, it’s not really the point of the plaintiffs in such cases to win the litigation. The goal is to require the gun manufacturers to spend millions of dollars in legal fees, which would otherwise be profits, answering and defending the lawsuits. If they don’t show up, the plaintiffs win by default, and court proceedings in the United States are so onerously expensive for both sides that it’s little wonder that private binding arbitration is so commonly stipulated in contracts. Aided by anti-gun judges, who allowed the suits to proceed past pre-trial motions to dismiss the suits as frivolous, the costs quickly multiply once you have multiple jurisdictions with multiple plaintiffs suing the gun manufacturers in multiple jurisdictions requiring multiple coordinating legal teams to handle them. Win or lose, the plaintiffs, in this case government entities with a near-limitless legal budget funded by taxpayers, would force gun manufacturers to spend money they simply don’t have defending one suit after another, until they filed for liquidation, or settled with the plaintiffs on the plaintiffs’ terms.And it almost worked; Smith & Wesson caved to the pressure, and agreed to an out-of-court settlement involving the adoption of various additional safety features on its guns and to spend money on smart gun research. The backlash to this decision by gun owners, who viewed it as a betrayal, was equally harsh, and the resulting boycott nearly destroyed the country’s oldest gun manufacturer completely. Andrew Cuomo (yes, that Andrew Cuomo, at the time Clinton’s HUD secretary) said that other gun manufacturers who didn’t knuckle under would face “death by a thousand cuts”, and Elliot Spitzer (yes, that Elliot Spitzer, then the US Attorney General), is on record telling Glock USA executives that if they didn’t agree to a similar settlement, they’d have “bankruptcy lawyers beating down their door”.In 2005, the now-Republican-held Congress had had enough. They passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which specifically enumerates an immunity from civil suit for gun manufacturers and gun sellers in cases where the claimed tort relates to the criminal use of a firearm by a third party. The law directs judges in the Federal and all State and local systems to issue summary judgment in favor of the defendant gun manufacturer or seller in any such case. There are specific exemptions, including “negligent entrustment” on the part of the retailer (seller knew or had reasonable cause for suspicion that the buyer intended to commit a crime, and handed it over anyway), or for design or manufacturing defects (the manufacturer is still liable to a gun owner for injury if their pistol blows up in the owner’s hands).This is the same assumption of non-liability for misuse that is enjoyed by every other manufacturer of a consumer product. But because of state and local attorneys’ willingness to abuse the legal system at the cost of a target manufacturer, it had to be expressly stipulated for the firearms industry.That’s the backstory. Now, the families of victims of Adam Lanza’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook sought to directly challenge the PLCAA, filing suit against Remington, who controls the Bushmaster brand of AR-pattern rifles like the one used by Lanza in the attack. The trial court applied the PLCAA, and threw out all the tort claims related to Lanza’s criminal misuse of the rifle. However, lawyers for the Sandy Hook families anticipated this, and included additional torts. Among them is the one at issue; that Remington violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act or CUTPA, and by so doing is liable to those who have suffered a material loss or harm as a result of said marketing.This claim revolved around a full-page ad that appeared in American Rifleman in the months prior to the shooting. The tagline was, “Consider your man card reissued”:The fairly obvious intent is to appeal to Gen-Xers (about 30–40 years old at the time) who found themselves on a floral-pattern couch in a quaint little suburb, children underfoot, pining after that classic Mustang or Challenger their wife made them sell to make room in the garage for the minivan, who would see owning an AR as a slightly cheaper and more compact symbol of masculinity. However, plaintiffs are alleging that this message also appealed to younger, troubled youths, bullied or ostracized at school or in their home life, looking to reassert some control and power over their social surroundings. In short, the very recipe for a school shooter like Adam Lanza. Plaintiffs claim that the advertising showed reckless disregard for the full scope of audiences most likely to be affected by it, that this advertising encouraged and empowered Adam Lanza, through his mother, to obtain a Bushmaster rifle, and therefore it is not the manufacture or sale of the rifle, but the marketing of it, that makes Remington liable for its misuse.Now, the PLCAA has an exception written in, where immunity shall not include “an action in which a manufacturer or seller of a qualified product knowingly violated a State or Federal statute applicable to the sale or marketing of the product, and the violation was a proximate cause of the harm for which relief is sought”. Subsections of this exception make it plain that the intent is not to shield gun manufacturers from civil liability when it can be proven they broke State or Federal gun laws regarding the sale of a gun. However, the inclusion of “marketing” allows suits based on violation of laws like CUTPA to be exempt from the immunity provided by the PLCAA.Therefore, the trial court allowed this allegation to proceed. The Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed this move, and SCOTUS has just denied cert to Remington’s appeal.This does not indicate the claim has merit; merely that it is not subject to summary judgment in Remington’s favor under the PLCAA. The question of summary judgment in general based on the facts of the case was not at issue in this run up to the SCOTUS. Connecticut’s Supreme Court decision mentioned the Court’s opinion that the plaintiffs’ chance of success is vanishingly slight. But it’s not impossible for the jury to agree with every last assertion the plaintiffs make, and if they do so, the plaintiffs will prevail, therefore the judge cannot take these decisions of fact out of the hands of a jury and issue a judgment as a matter of law.Why did SCOTUS decline to hear the case? A lot of people on both sides of the aisle are openly surprised that a Court with two Trump picks on the bench and an overall 5–4 conservative, pro-gun lean wouldn’t hear this case. However, it’s very simple; the lower courts did not err in this decision. The claim is not summarily blocked by statute, and it’s not impossible for the plaintiffs to prevail at trial given the available decisions of fact, therefore the case may proceed in trial court.Is the claim likely to succeed on its merits? In my opinion, no it is not, and as I mentioned, that opinion is shared by the Connecticut Supreme Court. But that was never the decision before any of the courts to date.To prevail at trial, the plaintiffs must convince a jury, by a “preponderance of the evidence” (more evidence supports the conclusion than refutes it, a much weaker standard than “beyond a reasonable doubt” required for criminal conviction), that:Remington’s marketing of the rifle in the manner on display was intended to attract young men like Lanza, or that Remington was reckless in disregarding the potential for a misinterpretation of the message by an unintended audience,That this intent or recklessness in advertising message makes the message “deceptive” as per the definition in CUTPA,That Adam Lanza or his mother Nancy were exposed to this advertisement,That this marketing significantly influenced Nancy’s decision to purchase the rifle, andThat this marketing significantly encouraged Adam’s decision to carry out the attack, beginning with the killing of his mother Nancy to obtain the Bushmaster rifle.Of these points, the ones requiring evidence of exposure to or influence of the marketing in question are the most salient; they are the critical links between the advertising and the attack, and they are also the hardest to prove. Remington could have said that if you buy their Bushmaster rifle, everyone you know will bow down before you, ladies will spread their legs and men will hold those legs apart for you. Totally false advertising, clearly intended to deceive anyone as to the actual social power of their weapon.If neither Nancy nor Adam ever heard or saw that message, it’s irrelevant.If Nancy or Adam had laughed it off as an obvious sill job, it’s irrelevant.If Nancy or Adam had seen an ad for a Colt AR, like this one:… and that influenced them to go looking for an AR, where they ended up with a Bushmaster instead due to cost or features, then the Remington ad is irrelevant.If the plaintiffs cannot prove it is “more likely than not” that all five of the above points are true, Remington wins.However, as I said before, the point for the plaintiffs isn’t to win the lawsuit. The point is to force Remington to defend against it. Remington is very likely already indebted to its legal representation in this case in the high six or even low seven figures; this motion to dismiss has been petitioned to no fewer than four courts of law (trial, state appeals, state supreme, Supreme) and argued in 3 (all but SCOTUS). The direct costs of that litigation alone are easily a quarter-million dollars in time, materials and fees, which Remington no longer has available to run its business.Also very notably, with the Court allowing this case to proceed to trial, Remington is now forced to open its internal files and communications to “discovery”, the process of exchange of information between litigants that can then be used as evidence at trial. Remington, unlike a criminal defendant, gets no secrets and no surprises as a defendant in a civil suit. The plaintiffs can look for even the smallest sentence of phrase in communications within Remington’s management or marketing staff or contractors that may indicate they knew or intended the message to appeal to young adults. That can then be taken completely out of context to paint Remington in the worst possible light, and to refute it, Remington would have to expose more of that communication at trial on the public record.Further, there was, at the time, a website run by Remington accompanying the print ads, where you entered your name and clicked a button to take the “man card test”. Everyone taking the test ended up getting a direct insult to their masculinity, and the statement that their man card was revoked. If Remington kept any list of names and e-mails, that information is discoverable. If that list includes an address known to belong to Lanza, entered into the system sometime before December 2012, that would conclusively prove point 3, that Adam was directly exposed to the marketing in question, and would support points 4 and 5.So, after all that, here’s the TL;DR.Is this the latest tactic to make guns unavailable to Americans? Not the latest, but one of the more successful post-”Revolt at Cincinnati” in 1977, when the NRA stopped collaborating on gun control and started opposing it. Successful, at least, until the PLCAA closed the floodgates in 2005.Can they sue all gun makers into bankruptcy[?] Not all. This case hinges specifically on Remington’s marketing of the Bushmaster brand of AR-pattern rifles. It also requires deep pockets on the plaintiffs’ side as well as the defendant’s, and it requires plaintiffs willing to endure reliving this traumatic time. Not all firearm manufacturers have had one of their guns used in a major mass shooting that would garner mass media attention (and jury sympathy), and some of them have occurred in jurisdictions with an automatic awarding of “reasonable attorney’s fees” to the victor.One such case was in Colorado, where a suit against two online retailers that sold the Aurora theater shooter the ammunition used in the attack was dismissed with prejudice under the PLCAA, and the plaintiffs, who were encouraged but not financially backed by the Brady Center, ended up filing bankruptcy after the judge awarded the defendants $203,000 in legal fees under a Colorado State statute to that effect.[W]ill that be a good thing? Of course it’s not a good thing to be able to sue a manufacturer into bankruptcy because you happen to not like how people are using their products. That’s why it rarely happens, anywhere else but regarding firearms. This “deceptive marketing” angle is not only a workaround to the PLCAA, it’s even more ludicrous when you see the dearth of related lawsuits in other industries. Video game manufacturers have solid precedent holding that their games’ content is protected speech, and they cannot be held liable for disseminating it or for its purported effect upon anyone who views it. You don’t see General Motors defending itself against liability for someone trying to recreate the Theophilius London skateboard ad with their own Chevy Sonic. You don’t see Gambrinus Ltd called on the carpet because someone wasn’t immediately transported to a sandy beach in Mexico when they picked up a Corona Extra. Gillette lost $8 billion in one quarter over public backlash about its “toxic masculinity” ad campaign, but it’s not being sued for everything it has left over that ad.Why or why not? If you’re not clear on that by now, go back to the beginning and read the full answer.