By State Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper)
For nearly 25 years, a lawsuit filed by the city of Gary threatened Americans' Second Amendment rights.
In 1999, several cities like Gary, as well as some states, filed lawsuits against firearm manufacturers and dealers claiming the manufacturers and dealers were responsible for gun crimes. The goal of these lawsuits was to put the firearm industry out of business and make it harder for law-abiding Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
Gary's lawsuit continued over the last 25 years, and earlier this year a Lake County judge ordered firearm sellers to turn over their firearm transaction history to the city's attorneys.
That is why earlier this year I proudly supported House Enrolled Act 1235, which voids the 1999 Gary lawsuit by specifying that only the state can bring or maintain a lawsuit on behalf of a local government entity against a gun manufacturer or dealer.
This law is important because it protects legal gun owners from having their gun purchase history turned over to attorneys representing Gary in the lawsuit.
It also blocks future local-government gun lawsuits in the event the federal law against such a litigation is changed.
The law does not stop a local government unit from pursuing generally applicable zoning or business ordinances that apply to firearm businesses or pursuing a breach of contract case against a firearm or ammunition company if the city were to purchase defective guns.
Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms, and as your state senator, I will continue to fight to protect this right for law abiding Hoosiers.
As always, constituents can reach out to me with any questions or concerns they may have by filling out a "Contact Me" form on the IndianaSenateRepublicans.com/Messmer website or by phone at 800-382-9467.
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State Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper) represents Senate District 48, which
includes Crawford, Dubois, Gibson, Perry, Pike and Spencer counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
