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  • December 2022 (Revised February 2023)
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Daniel Defense: Responding to the Shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:34
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Abstract

At 11:33am on May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old man from Uvalde, Texas walked into the Robb Elementary School carrying a semi-automatic "AR-15-style” rifle manufactured by Daniel Defense and killed 19 children and two adults. Three days later, Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Chair of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to Marty Daniel, the CEO of Daniel Defense, requesting information for a Congressional hearing to be held on June 8. Daniel must now respond to the request for information on his firm’s marketing practices, gun sales, and profitability; prepare for Congressional testimony; and decide whether to change any of his company’s business practices (e.g., the products it sold and the way it marketed them). Daniel also had to decide whether to support new calls for gun control legislation or continue resisting all attempts to restrict Second Amendment rights to gun ownership. At a higher level, this case explores the legal, ethical, and moral responsibilities companies have, if any, for the criminal misuse of their legally manufactured and legally sold products.

Keywords

Gun Violence; Gun Policy; Second Amendment; Legal Liability; Government Legislation; Marketing Strategy; Business or Company Management; Product Marketing; Ethics; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Moral Sensibility; Crime and Corruption; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Manufacturing Industry; Advertising Industry; United States

Citation

Esty, Benjamin C., and Daniel Fisher. "Daniel Defense: Responding to the Shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX." Harvard Business School Case 323-058, December 2022. (Revised February 2023.)
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About The Author

Benjamin C. Esty

Finance
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Related Work

    • December 2022 (Revised February 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    Daniel Defense: Responding to the Shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX

    By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher
Related Work
  • Daniel Defense: Responding to the Shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher
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