(Bloomberg) -- The maker of the assault rifle used in the2012 massacre of morethan two dozen students and teachers at Sandy Hook ElementarySchool was ordered to allow its executives to be questionedahead of a trial of a lawsuit by victims’ families, pushing thecase further than most such suits have reached.

Connecticut State Judge Barbara Bellis on Tuesday set a trialfor April 3, 2018, "marking another major victory for families ofthe victims in their effort to hold gun companies responsible" forthe 2012 school shooting, their law firm, Koskoff Koskoff& Bieder PC, said in a statement.

The families claim Bushmaster Firearms International LLC, aunit of Cerberus Capital Management LP’s Remington Arms Co.,engineered the rifle specifically for the U.S. military to kill incombat and is being wrongfully sold to civilians to make a profit.In a ruling last week, Bellis denied a request to toss the case onthe grounds that it was automatically blocked by a 2005 federal lawshielding gunmakers from liability in most cases.

The rulings are renewing focus on U.S. gun violence as HillaryClinton and Bernie Sanders, the two Democratic presidentialhopefuls, clash over the issue. Clinton has repeatedly criticizedSanders over his support for the 2005 shield law, called theProtection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

Jessica Kallum, a spokeswoman for Madison, North Carolina-basedRemington, didn’t immediately reply to a message seeking comment onthe ruling.

National debate

The 2012 attack by Adam Lanza reignited the national debate overgun violence and spurred calls for lawmakers to strengthenfirearm-control laws, such as expanded background checks on buyers,a ban on civilian sales of military-style rifles and a limit on theammunition capacity of magazines. Those efforts have mostly failed,leading President Barack Obama to seek change through executiveaction, though such measures are minor by comparison.

Last week’s ruling didn’t address the merits of the families’claims, focusing instead on whether the court had jurisdiction,given federal and state laws.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2009 left intact lower court decisionsshielding Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., Sturm, Ruger & Co.and other gunmakers from suits pressed by New York City andshooting victims in Washington, D.C. The justices, without comment,rejected appeals that challenged the constitutionality of the 2005federal law.

Legally purchased

Lanza, 20, shot and killed his 52-year-old mother, Nancy, beforegoing to the school and killing 20 children and six adults. Lanzakilled himself after the massacre with a Glock pistol. The suit wasfiled by one survivor and the families of four adults and fivechildren who died. The rifle used in the killings had been legallypurchased by Nancy Lanza.

According to the complaint, the size and firepower of the rifleused by Lanza are “liabilities in home defense,” and there is one“tragically predictable civilian activity” in which it succeeds— mass shootings.

Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.