Even the staunchest Second Amendment supporter may be forgiven if they have not kept up with proceedings in Smith & Wesson Corp. v. City of Gary. After all, it meandered through the court system for 26 years, only to be dismissed on Monday.
Three judges for the Indiana Court of Appeals unanimously ruled against Gary’s attempt to sue weapons manufacturers for illegal actions taken by third parties.
The jurists relied on a 2024 state law that prohibits local governments from filing reckless lawsuits against the firearms industry.
Gary officials still have options, but the lawsuit’s dismissal is a significant victory for gun rights
“The City has failed to show that retroactive application of the Reservation Statute violates any vested right or constitutional guarantee held by the City,” wrote Chief Judge Robert Altice. “Unfair as it may be, the legislature can legally do exactly what it did in this case, and we cannot second-guess its public policy determinations in this regard. On remand, the trial court is directed to dismiss this action.”
Gary’s leadership could still appeal the ruling to the Indiana Supreme Court.
The case’s longevity prompted gun rights supporters to pass HB 1235
Second Amendment supporters acted in 2024 to head off Gary’s decades-old lawsuit against the firearms industry. When HB 1235 was enacted, it prohibited future frivolous legal action, and with a twist.
The law’s language stated that the measure applied retroactively to August 27, 1999. This was three days before the city filed its suit.
Gary’s claims were part of a deluge of dozens of U.S. cities filing frivolous lawsuits against the weapons industry. City leaders coordinated these attacks on Second Amendment rights through the U.S. Conference of Mayors, using attorneys from anti-2A organizations.
Not only were the suits almost universally dismissed or dropped, but decisive federal action followed in 2005. Lawmakers passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) in 2005 to head off precisely what Gary officials and many others sought to do.
But, somehow, the lawsuit survived until last week.
The fight against Gary’s lawfare suffered a setback in August when a trial judge rejected the retroactive application of the new law. Calling it a “manifest injustice,” the judge added that dating the statute back to 1999 “would violate years of vested rights and constitutional guarantees.”
Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed with Monday’s decision. HB 1235 is indeed constitutional, as is its retroactive application.
Judge Altice explained that state lawmakers were correct in 2024 in passing the Reservation Statute.
“In sum, the General Assembly determined that the public interest would be served by denying political subdivisions the power to independently bring or maintain certain lawsuits against members of the firearms industry and effectuated this policy by enacting the Reservation Statute and making it broadly applicable, retroactively and prospectively, throughout the state,” the appeals court judge wrote. “Uniform application of this policy could not be achieved unless the Reservation Statute applied to all such lawsuits brought or maintained by political subdivisions, including this one.”
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the industry trade association, hailed the ruling as a victory for gun rights at what it hopes is the end of a long battle.
“This is a tremendous day for the rule of law, common sense, and the firearm industry,” declared NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. “The City of Gary never had a serious claim. Instead, it was committed to a losing lawfare strategy to abuse the courts in order to force gun control policy outside of legislative channels. The bottom line is that these sorts of frivolous claims have no business clogging our courts, and special interest groups cannot circumvent elected bodies by attempting legislation through litigation.”
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