Indiana Supreme Court lets suit against gun makers go forward

From the Indianapolis Star:

A nearly decade-old lawsuit seeking to hold gun makers responsible for the city of Gary's rampant crime received a green light Monday to head to trial.

The Indiana Supreme Court declined to review a lower court ruling, ending the second round of appeals since the case was filed in 1999. Gary's suit alleges that 16 gun makers, including Smith & Wesson and Beretta, and six Northern Indiana gun dealers sold handguns they knew would get into the hands of criminals barred from owning them.

The court's order let stand an October 2007 Indiana Court of Appeals ruling that the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act didn't bar the suit from proceeding. Congress approved the measure in 2005 to provide some immunity to the firearms industry from such suits.

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, whose lawyers represent Gary, hailed the state high court's decision, called a denial of transfer.

"The Indiana Supreme Court's ruling is an important victory for the people of Gary and particularly those who have suffered from the gun industry's supply of guns to criminals and gun traffickers," Paul Helmke, president of the Washington-based Brady Center and a former Fort Wayne mayor, said in a statement Monday.

Attempts to reach attorneys for the gun manufacturers Monday night were unsuccessful.

Before the Court of Appeals ruled, gun makers had countered that the federal law was aimed directly at lawsuits such as Gary's; it was even mentioned by name during debate in Congress. . . . .