Sandy Hook families and gun maker in court Tuesday to prepare for trial

Mark and Jackie Barden and Nicole Hockley are among the Sandy Hook families suing a gun maker. Mark and Jackie Barden and Nicole Hockley are among the Sandy Hook families suing a gun maker. Photo: Cathy Zuraw / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Cathy Zuraw / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Sandy Hook families and gun maker in court Tuesday to prepare for trial 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NEWTOWN - The families that are suing the maker of the AR-15-style rifle used in the Sandy Hook massacre are back in court Tuesday to prepare for trial.

The appearance Tuesday in Bridgeport Superior Court comes one week after Judge Barbara Bellis cleared the way for a trial, ruling that a federal law protecting the gun industry from most liability claims does not bar the families’ wrongful death lawsuit against the nation’s oldest firearm manufacturer.

The families argue that Remington Arms Co. irresponsibly marketed and negligently entrusted the semi-automatic rifle to the public, ignoring the risk that it could be misused.

The gun maker argues that federal law prohibits manufacturers from being sued when their firearms are misused.

Meanwhile in the state next door, voters are casting ballots for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in the New York Democratic presidential primary.

The issue has become a point of debate between the two Democrats because Clinton voted against the 2005 federal law that shields the gun industry from most lawsuit claims when she was a senator, and Sanders voted for it.