Brady Responds to Indiana Supreme Court Decision in City of Gary v. Smith & Wesson Litigation

Court’s refusal to take up case effectively ends the City of Gary from pursuing the 25-year old litigation to hold gun companies accountable for their negligent conduct that contributed to the criminal gun market

INDIANAPOLIS, May 21, 2026 — Today, the Indiana Supreme Court refused to take up Brady’s appeal of the Indiana Court of Appeals decision in City of Gary v. Smith & Wesson: "Petition for Transfer Denied." This effectively ends the ability for the City of Gary to continue pursuing this case in court.

Kris Brown, President of Brady, said:

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. 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.

But as a door closes in Indiana, others are open nationwide in states and localities where elected leadership is not captive to the gun industry’s profit-driven motives. Just last year, a jury in Baltimore rendered a $62 million verdict against a dealer selling ghost guns that wreaked havoc on the City – a model for other jurisdictions to pursue in the future.