A legal battle older than the iPhone has officially reached its end. On Thursday, the Indiana Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the city of Gary, effectively killing a 25-year-old lawsuit against 11 major gun manufacturers.
The decision leaves intact a December ruling from the Indiana Court of Appeals, which ordered the case to be dismissed. The high court’s 4-1 decision brings a close to a legal saga that began in August 1999.
Gary originally sued firearm giants like Smith & Wesson, Glock, and Beretta, alleging negligence. The city sought financial damages for costs associated with gun violence and requested court-ordered restrictions on firearm sales and design. These proposed measures included limiting individuals to one handgun purchase per month, capping magazine capacities, and requiring “smart gun” technology—restrictions that gun-control advocates had been unable to pass through state or federal legislatures.
Over the last two decades, the litigation faced repeated pushback from Indiana lawmakers. Starting in 2001, the state passed multiple laws aimed at blocking lawsuits against the firearm industry. While courts kept Gary’s suit alive through various challenges, a 2024 revision to Indiana’s version of the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act ultimately sealed the case’s fate.
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“The legislature can legally do exactly what it did in this case, and we cannot second-guess its public policy determinations in this regard,” the appellate court wrote in its December ruling. “On remand, the trial court is directed to dismiss this action.”
Back in 1999, municipal leaders openly stated they were using the courts to bypass legislative gridlock caused by pro-Second Amendment majorities.
“They’ve always very effectively, with big money, lobbied the legislature and kept laws from being passed,” Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim told The New York Times when the national litigation strategy began.
Other public officials used aggressive rhetoric to pressure gun makers into settlements at the time. Andrew Cuomo, then the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, warned that manufacturers faced “death by a thousand cuts” if they did not comply. Former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer similarly warned Glock during settlement talks, stating, “If you do not sign, your bankruptcy lawyers will be knocking at your door.”
Following Thursday’s decision, Brady United, the gun-control organization representing Gary, expressed sharp disappointment and blamed political influence for the outcome.
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“What are the gun industry defendants so afraid of? We feel so disappointed today for our client, the City of Gary, which has made near insurmountable strides in reducing gun violence in recent years,” Brady United President Kris Brown said in a statement. “What happened here should shock and terrify anyone wanting to access the courts to seek accountability. In no uncertain terms: the gun industry defendants got the legislators whose campaigns they fund to pass five separate laws over 25 years to end legitimate lawsuits like Gary’s.”
With the state supreme court refusing to review the case, the lower court’s order stands, and the city’s lawsuit will be dismissed.
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