The family of Miguel Angel Honorato, one of the 49 people shot and killed at Pulse nightclub on June 12, has hired a law firm to sue gunmakers Sig Sauer and Glock.

Attorney Bob Hilliard of Hilliard Muñoz Gonzales LLP in Corpus Christi, Texas, will represent the Honoratos, arguing that the gun manufacturers Sig Sauer Inc. and Glock Inc., both of which were used in the Pulse massacre, should be held accountable for their products' design and marketing.

Hilliard argues that Sig Sauer "aggressively marketed" the MCX assault rifle as the next-generation AR-15 assault rifle “eclipsing everything that has come before it," and that the weapon is more deadly than fully automatic rifles: "Most experts agree semiautomatic weapons are arguably more lethal than the automatic weapons used by the military because semiautomatic fire is more accurate."



In its 2015 catalog, Sig Sauer boasted that the MCX offers “battle tested experience to engineer the world’s toughest most devastatingly accurate pistols and rifles.”

Along similar lines, Hilliard says Glock Inc. knew its Glock 17 9mm semiautomatic handgun, which was also used by Orlando shooter Omar Mateen, was designed specifically for professionals.

"Glock admits that the gun is 'designed for professionals' and is 'just what you need in high-pressure situations.' That message reached the Pulse killer, who used it just as Glock intended," says Hilliard. "Glock boasts that its semiautomatic pistols are 'used in more than 50 elite military units worldwide.'" 

From Hilliard:

“As long as these weapons are specifically designed to shoot dozens of rounds in seconds, then it simply becomes a matter of luck and timing. If your luck runs out and you or your family are in the same place at the same time where these military weapons are being used, then innocent lives are lost and families grieve, end of conversation. Then, after those who never believed that they would die from military weapons are put to rest in quiet cemeteries in towns across this country, the same scene follows that has sadly been accepted as part of our nation’s fabric: the families of the victims come together with those that may one day be victims and in a collective voice of protest insist on common sense change.

Yet, year after year, tragedy after tragedy, these grieving voices of reason are shouted down, drowned out by the politicians paid by the gun industry and its association, the NRA. The response is never nuanced: ‘2nd amendment! 2nd amendment!’ Then the cycle is repeated.”

Joining Hilliard in this lawsuit is Steve Berman, of Seattle- and Boston-based Hagens, Berman, Sobol & Shapiro.