The state has reached back 25 years to deal an apparent knockout blow to pending litigation filed by the city of Gary against the gun makers and sellers.
Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill friendly to the firearms industry Friday that retroactively bans litigation from Gary and stops other municipalities from filing similar lawsuits. It takes effect July 1.
Holcomb defended his decision to sign the bill, despite a plea from former State Senator and Gary Mayor Eddie Melton.
In a statement, Holcomb said House Bill 1235 brings certainty that only the state can file such lawsuits against the gun industry.
Holcomb said the legislation doesn’t stop private individuals or businesses from filing lawsuits.
“It does bring closure to a long-standing statewide legislative debate,” Holcomb said in a statement.
The new law, sponsored by Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers, allows only the Indiana attorney general to sue gun manufacturers and sellers. The law is retroactive to Aug. 27, 1999, three days before the filing of the Gary lawsuit during a period when the city was wracked by gun violence, fueled in part by illegal straw purchases.
GOP lawmakers, who live hours away from Gary, have targeted the lawsuit for years, even though the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court have upheld it.
In testimony opposing the bill, Melton said: “Local governments have the right to fight back against bad actors, and I repeat, bad actors who they believe are harming their community”
In a statement released Saturday, Melton said the city and its representatives lobbied hard against the bill.
“Now that this decision has been made, our administration will collaborate with partners to explore the most effective legal options for Gary,” Melton said. “While this outcome is disappointing, it will not deter my administration’s unwavering commitment to preventing gun violence and improving public safety in our community.”
State Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, is also an attorney for the city of Gary and has worked on the lawsuit with the Brady Center.
“With the signing of HB 1235, the gun industry will now likely attempt to dismiss a case that would prove that the gun industry engaged in unlawful acts that lead to guns getting into the hands of teens, violent felons, and other people ineligible of legally possessing guns. While profits soared, so did the death toll in places like Gary, Indiana, in record numbers,” he said.
Some Republicans, who disagreed with the standard being set preventing municipalities from filing lawsuits, voted against the bill, but it easily passed both chambers with local Lake and Porter GOP lawmakers supporting it.
“No industry should ever be above the law,” Pol said. “No industry should ever be able to use their influence to escape pending liability for unlawful actions…
“This precedent invites other powerful industries to use their influence to protect themselves from pending liabilities.”
Meanwhile, a firearms trade association praised the new law and said it expects gun industry defendants to file a motion to dismiss the case based on the law.
“This is a tremendous victory for common sense,” said Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel for the NSSF, the Firearm Industry Trade Association.
“The city of Gary never had a serious claim. Instead, it was committed to a losing strategy of lawfare to abuse the courts in order to force through gun control policy outside of legislative channels,” Keane said in a statement.
The NSSF spent $143,000 on lobbying efforts in Indiana in 2023, according to ProPublica.
The Indiana chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action released a statement calling the new law “dangerous” and adding it limits the ability of local governments to sue if there’s illegal gun activity in their communities.
“Today is a sad day for Indiana families,” said Julia Chester, of Moms Demand Action. “As gun violence continues to be the leading cause of death for children and teens in this country, we must be doing more to curb this crisis — not caving to the gun lobby.”
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Mike Schmuhl issued a statement assailing the new law.
“If you’re a special interest in Indiana, and you don’t like a court ruling, just come running to the Republican supermajority and they will turn back time to reverse the court’s decision and protect your profits…”
The new law comes as the lawsuit enters a critical discovery phase in Lake Superior Court in which gun makers would be required to provide internal documents such as market research.
The Brady Center called it the most consequential lawsuit against the gun industry in the country.
“This new law in Indiana is a tragedy for Americans everywhere,” said Kris Brown, President of Brady, in a statement. “Indiana legislators just gave America’s top gun manufacturers a free pass. Every other industry faces accountability in the courts. It should send chills down the spine of every American that the corporate gun industry succeeded in changing the law to stop discovery and being held responsible in court. Every American should question what the gun industry is hiding and what truly abhorrent practices they want to be kept in the dark. This is a grim day for the gun violence prevention movement and our nation’s future.”
Gary’s 1999 lawsuit, filed when Scott King was mayor, sued 11 gun manufacturers, one wholesaler and five retail gun shops alleging they engaged in illegal activity including straw purchases under the state’s nuisance statute.
In arguing its case, the city pointed to 70 killings in 1997 and 54 in 1998. From 1997 through 2000, 764 recovered handguns were sold by dealers named as defendants.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.