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FEATURE STORIES DC Court of Appeals Throws Out Ruling that Dismissed City's Suit Against the Gun Industry Washington, DC - In a ruling made public today, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals threw out a prior ruling that had dismissed Washington, DC's lawsuit against the gun industry. The Court will now decide whether the city's case can go forward. The lawsuit claims that the gun industry is responsible for supplying criminals with firearms. The city brought claims under theories of negligence and public nuisance law. The DC Court of Appeals ruling follows rulings in numerous other states giving the green light to similar cases against the gun industry. Recently, the Indiana Supreme Court, Ohio Supreme Court, and appellate courts in New Jersey and Illinois have reinstated cases brought by cities in those states. In the last few months, courts have also approved a record $4.4 million of settlements against gun sellers and manufacturers in cases brought by gun violence victims. This includes an unprecedented $2.5 million settlement in a suit brought by victims of the DC-area sniper attacks against gun shop Bull's Eye Shooter Supply of Tacoma, Washington, and gun maker Bushmaster Firearms of Windham, Maine. Those victims also brought suit alleging that the gun shop and gun maker acted negligently and created a public nuisance. Gun shop Bull's Eye claimed that it "lost" 238 guns in a three year period, including the DC sniper's Bushmaster assault weapon. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Backs Police: May Keep Gun Records to Solve Crimes Pennsylvania - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled late yesterday that the Pennsylvania State Police may continue to maintain handgun sales records, rejecting a legal challenge by the gun lobby. The ruling protects law enforcement by allowing police to keep records of handgun sales collected since the 1930's and used to solve gun crimes. The ruling in Allegheny County Sportsmen's League v. Rendell holds that Pennsylvania law allows police to keep a database of handgun sales records. The gun lobby had argued that such records must be destroyed, citing a state law prohibiting the maintenance of gun "ownership" records. The Court rejected this challenge, declaring that "maintenance of a database of handgun sales is proper" under Pennsylvania law, as such a database tracks only handgun sales records, not ownership. The court relied in part on a friend of the court amicus brief filed by law enforcement and gun violence prevention groups, including the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Pennsylvania Million Mom March and the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. "High Noon" in fhe Battle Against Irresponsible Gun Sellers and Manufacturers The Brady Center's $4.4 million settlements in three groundbreaking victories this year against reckless gun makers and dealers is being heard loud and clear by the gun industry. A revealing article in Corporate Counsel Magazine explains how "it's impossible to deny the landmark status" of the Brady Center's unprecedented $2.5 million victory in its lawsuit on behalf of Washington, DC-area sniper victims. The record-breaking payment came from the manufacturer of the assault weapon used by the snipers, Bushmaster Firearms, and the gun dealer that supplied the snipers, Bull's Eye Shooter Supply. This victory followed two other successful lawsuits against gun sellers who recklessly supplied weapons to gun traffickers. In one case the guns were used to shoot two New Jersey police officers while in the other the gun killed a young boy playing with friends in Philadelphia.
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