Gary’s long-running lawsuit against the gun industry lost its last shot Thursday when the state Supreme Court declined to reopen the case dismissed in late 2025 by the state Court of Appeals.
Gary sued several gun manufacturers in 1999, arguing they represented a public nuisance for supplying guns that they know will reach criminals and others who can’t legally buy them.
In its December 2025 decision, the appellate court cited a 2024 gun industry-friendly state law that stripped away municipalities’ right to sue firearms or ammunition manufacturers, trade associations, sellers or dealers. The law made the actions retroactive with its sights on Gary.
Under the law, only the state attorney general can bring an action against the gun industry.
“Over a quarter of a century after this lawsuit began, I am proud to be the attorney general who has finally ended the city of Gary’s relentless campaign to harass the firearms industry,” Attorney General Todd Rokita said in a release.
“This huge victory prevents a single city or small group of cities from using baseless lawsuits to dictate how guns are sold across our entire state, ensuring that responsible, law-abiding citizens can continue to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”
The 2024 law was passed as the lawsuit was entering the discovery phase in Lake Superior Court John Sedia’s Hammond courtroom.
Attorneys for Brady, a nonprofit focused on gun violence prevention, were part of the team that represented Gary over the lifespan of the lawsuit, filed in 1999 when Scott King served as Gary mayor and gun violence reached epidemic levels and the city gained the “Murder Capital” nickname.
“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,” said Brady president Kris Brown.
“Meanwhile, they have also fought hard for the last 25 years simply to tell their story and have a jury of Hoosiers decide what accountability gun companies should face for the public health crisis and trail of terror their negligence created.
“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. Instead of letting the City of Gary have their day in court, these gun companies and the legislators they help elect chose a weak and sad path. Hoosiers will all suffer and justice continues to be delayed as a result.”
The city of Gary didn’t return a request for comment.
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In detailing its decision in December, 2025, Appellate Court Chief Judge Robert Altice wrote the city of Gary “failed to show that retroactive application” of a state law barring cities from filing lawsuits against gun manufacturers “violates any vested right or constitutional guarantee held by the city.”
“Unfair as it may appear, 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,” the judges wrote.
Citing a proliferation of guns in Gary that amounted to a public nuisance, the city filed suit against Smith & Wesson Corp., Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., Colt’s Manufacturing Company LLC, Beretta U.S.A. Corp., Phoenix Arms, Glock, Inc., Beemiller, Inc. known as Hi-Point Firearms, Browning Arms Corp., and Taurus International Manufacturing Inc.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.