Indiana Appeals Court Finds Retroactive Application of Gun Law Constitutional

A three-judge panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals ended a 26-year-old lawsuit filed by the city of Gary against several gunmakers that accused the firearms industry of complicity in violent crime involving guns in the city.

The court ruled that a 2024 law retroactively limits the right to file such legal actions to state government, reversing a lower court’s ruling that the law was unconstitutional.

According to the Appeals Court ruling, House Enrolled Act 1235 (HEA 1235), which was signed into law on March 14, 2024, states that “only the state of Indiana may bring or maintain an action by or on behalf of a political subdivision against a firearm or ammunition manufacturer, trade association, seller, or dealer.”

The ruling was authored by presiding Judge Robert R. Altice.

When it passed HEA 1235, the Legislature declared an emergency, making the law active on the day that then-Gov. Eric Holcomb signed it. The Appeals Court ruled that applying the law retroactively did not violate the city’s rights, despite the city’s arguments otherwise.

“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,” the decision reads.

Firearms industry representatives and Indiana’s attorney general applauded the ruling.

In a statement on the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) website, Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel, called the lawsuit “a losing lawfare strategy” designed “to force gun control policy outside of legislative channels.”

“The City of Gary never had a serious claim. The bottom line is that these sorts of frivolous claims have no business clogging our courts and special-interest groups cannot circumvent elected representative bodies by attempting legislation through litigation,” Keane wrote.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita agreed. In a statement on his office’s website, Rokita vowed to defend “law-abiding gunmakers and sellers.”

“Our office will continue defending your constitutional rights and keeping firearms accessible to responsible, law-abiding citizens,” Rokita’s statement reads.

The City of Gary media office did not respond to an email seeking comment by publication time.

Groups advocating for stricter gun control did not respond to a request for comment by publication of this report. However, they were highly critical of HEA 1235 when it passed, saying that the law removes all accountability from the firearms industry in Indiana.

“This new law in Indiana is a tragedy for Americans everywhere,” said Kris Brown, president of Brady, a group devoted to preventing gun violence. “Indiana legislators just gave America’s top gun manufacturers a free pass.”

In August, Indiana Superior Court Judge John Sedia ruled that while HEA 1235 is constitutional, applying it retroactively violated “years of vested rights and constitutional guarantees.”

The Appeals Court disagreed. It ruled that “the City has failed to show that retroactive application of the Reservation Statute violates any vested right or constitutional guarantee held by the City.”

An Immunity Statute was passed by the state in 2021 to protect gunmakers and dealers from liability for the lawful sale and use of firearms, as well as criminal actions by others. The law was updated in 2015 to be retroactive to Aug. 26, 1999, just before the Gary lawsuit. In 2024, HEA 1235 reserved the right to sue the gun industry almost exclusively to the state.