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Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is asking the state appeals court to dismiss the city of Gary’s controversial 26-year-old lawsuit against gun manufacturers and sellers.
His move challenges a Lake Superior Court judge’s decision last year not to dismiss the lawsuit despite a new state law that retroactively stripped Gary and all Indiana municipalities of their authority to sue the gun industry.
“The state legislature — acting on behalf of the everyday Hoosiers who elect its members — confers to cities and towns certain powers and functions,” Rokita said. “The City of Gary cannot, then, choose to exercise powers that the legislature expressly has forbidden.”
In August 2024, Lake Superior Court Judge John Sedia declined to dismiss the lawsuit, writing that the General Assembly “cannot end this lawsuit.”
“To do so would violate years of vested rights and constitutional guarantees set forth so eloquently in Gary’s Memorandum of Law,” Sedia continued. “To avoid manifest injustice, the substance of this lawsuit must be taken to its conclusion.”
The legal battle began in August 1999 when Gary sued 11 firearm manufacturers, one firearm wholesaler, five retailers and other defendants who the city alleged manufactured, designed, marketed or sold firearms that were later used to commit crimes.
The case is Smith & Wesson Corp., et al., State of Indiana v. City of Gary, Indiana, 24A-CT-02381.
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