State Republicans killed an Indiana city's lawsuit to stop illegal gun sales. Why?

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Almost 25 years after suing the firearms industry for failing to prevent illegal gun sales, the northwestern Indiana city of Gary won a critical victory last fall when a judge ordered gun manufacturers to hand over years of production and sales records.

But in March, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a new law retroactively banning cities from bringing such lawsuits, effectively halting the case. Republicans said the gun industry is not responsible for illegal sales. Critics say the legislation shows lawmakers don’t consider ending gun crime a priority and reflects their apathy for Gary's majority Black residents.

“There’s gun violence everywhere you turn in America,” longtime Gary resident Rev. Dena Holland-Neal said. “And someone has to be accountable.”

Gary is more racially diverse than the rest of Indiana and, sitting just east of Chicago, is one of its few Democratic strongholds. Most of its estimated 67,970 population is Black in contrast to 10% of people statewide, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Hospital chaplain Carmen McKee, who counsels victims of gun violence and their families, said racism underscores the actions of policymakers who dismiss Gary’s needs as, “‘It’s just Gary’ or ’It’s just another area of people of color.’”

“But yet they would not allow it to happen in their area,” McKee said.

Gary was among dozens of U.S. cities to sue major gun-makers and sellers in reaction to the out-of-control homicide rates and violent crime of the 1990s. But the other cities' cases fell by the wayside, leaving Gary's as the last suit standing when, in November, a Lake County judge ordered manufacturers to produce decades of business records.

“This case has persevered because it’s a valid claim,” said Rodney Pol, an attorney on the case and a Democratic state senator representing Gary.

Indiana's Republican-dominated Legislature moved quickly to approve the new law this year, stipulating that only the state's attorney general can bring civil action against a firearm or ammunition manufacturer, and made it retroactive to Aug. 27, 1999, three days before Gary filed its lawsuit.

Rep. Chris Jeter, who wrote the legislation, told the House Committee on Judiciary that the judge's order would result in excessive costs for firearms manufacturers, which he said should not be held liable for illegal sales.

“I just think that there’s an effort to try to end this use of the court system as a weapon against gun manufacturers,” Jeter said.

He made no attempt to hide that Gary was his intended target.

“This bill is an effort to take one last shot to try to eliminate this last pending case,” he said.

Jeter did not respond to an Associated Press interview request.

The vocal minority Democratic caucus in the Indiana Legislature decried the new law for favoring firearms companies. State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, a former prosecutor who represents Gary, called it a “slap in the face” for attorneys and judges.

“That is something for the court to decide,” Hatcher said.

Days after the governor signed the law, gun manufacturers asked the court to end Gary's suit. The judge stayed the discovery Tuesday until the conflict with the new law is resolved. A status conference is scheduled for May 8.

Attorneys for the defendants either did not respond to messages from the AP or declined to comment on the case.

Several of the gun manufacturers and retailers named in the lawsuit are on the board of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which lobbies for the firearms and ammunition industries in Indiana and statehouses nationwide.

Lobbying records first reported by ProPublica and The Indianapolis Star show NSSF spent tens of thousands of dollars more on lobbying in Indiana last year than in the previous three years. Reports for this session haven't yet been filed.

“This case is, and always was, frivolous, an abuse of the legal system," Lawrence G. Keane, the senior vice president and general counsel for the group, said in a recent statement.

The Brady Center, a national organization supporting gun-control policy, represents Gary in the lawsuit. Philip Bangle, senior litigation counsel, said Brady plans to challenge the new state law.

For Gary residents and officials, the looming end of the lawsuit is a reminder of how the firearms industry has changed and the continued devastating impact of gun violence.

Technology and other changes over the past 20 years have made it easier to modify and re-sell illegal guns, Gary Deputy Police Chief Brian Evans said.

Violent crime offenders have trended younger during his three decades on the force, and often they are using guns acquired through illegal means, Evans said.

The case has been around for so long that Holland-Neal doubts it's even a topic of conversation among younger residents or recent arrivals. But she worries about the prevalence of firearms in her city and the rising tide of gun violence nationwide.

“There’s such a need for this country to figure out some way to put some laws together that address gun violence, that make a difference,” she said. “How that’s going to happen? I’m honest with you, I have no idea."

Ragen Hatcher, a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from the 3rd district, poses for a photo at the Gary Sanitary District building in Gary, Ind., Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Ragen Hatcher, a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from the 3rd district, poses for a photo at the Gary Sanitary District building in Gary, Ind., Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Ragen Hatcher, a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from the 3rd district, poses for a photo at the Gary Sanitary District building in Gary, Ind., Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Ragen Hatcher, a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from the 3rd district, poses for a photo at the Gary Sanitary District building in Gary, Ind., Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Ragen Hatcher, a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from the 3rd district, poses for a photo at the Gary Sanitary District building in Gary, Ind., Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Ragen Hatcher, a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from the 3rd district, poses for a photo at the Gary Sanitary District building in Gary, Ind., Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — Donald Trump on Wednesday will use a one-day break from his hush money trial to rally voters in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, a day after he was held in contempt of court and threatened with jail time for violating a gag order.

His remarks will be closely watched after he received a $9,000 fine for making public statements about people connected to the case. In imposing the fine for posts on Trump's Truth Social account and campaign website, Judge Juan M. Merchan said that if Trump continued to violate his orders, he “will impose an incarceratory punishment.”

The former president is trying to achieve a balancing act unprecedented in American history by running for a second term as the presumptive Republican nominee while also fighting felony charges in New York. Trump frequently goes after Merchan, prosecutors and potential witnesses at his rallies and on social media, attack lines that play well with his supporters but that have potentially put him in legal jeopardy.

Trump insists he is merely exercising his free speech rights, but the offending posts from his Truth Social account and campaign website were taken down. Merchan is weighing other alleged gag-order violations by Trump and will hear arguments on Thursday.

Trump appeared frustrated after the ninth day of the trial came to an end, saying he should be out in Georgia and New Hampshire instead of sitting in court.

“They don’t want me on the campaign trail,” he told reporters.

Trump has often called this case and other criminal cases against him “election interference,” saying they keep him from campaigning for the presidential election in November.

The gag order barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his hush money case.

Manhattan prosecutors have argued Trump and his associates took part in an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential campaign by purchasing and then burying stories. He has pleaded not guilty.

Trump’s visits to Wisconsin and Michigan mark his second trip to the swing states in just a month. For the last rallies, the former president largely focused on immigration referring to people who are in the U.S. illegally and who are suspected of crimes as “animals.”

Wisconsin and Michigan are among a handful of battleground states expected to decide the 2024 election.

For Trump to win both states, he must do well in suburban areas like the areas outside of Milwaukee and Saginaw, Michigan, where he will hold Wednesday's rallies. He underperformed in suburban areas during this year's primary even as he dominated the Republican field overall.

Trump has repeatedly falsely said that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Trump’s losses in battleground states in 2020 have withstood recounts, audits and reviews by the Justice Department and outside observers.

Gomez Licon reported from Miami, and Price reported from Freeland, Mich.

Follow the AP's coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media outside the courtroom of his trial at Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)

Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Victor J. Blue/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)