Atlanta Gun Suit Dismissed
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Atlanta Gun Suit Dismissed





A unanimous three-judge panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals, in a clearly written decision, has dismissed the City of Atlanta’s lawsuit against 14 firearm manufacturers and their trade associations. The court ruled that the Georgia Constitution and State law preempted the field of gun regulation, and that the City, by attempting to regulate firearms through litigation, had improperly tried to usurp that power from the State. “Through this lawsuit, the City seeks to punish the conduct which the State, through its regulatory and statutory schemes, expressly allows and licenses,” the court said. The Georgia Attorney General had filed an amicus curiae brief (friend-of-the-court) defending the constitutionality of the State preemption law. The City filed its action in February 1999 just as the industry was in Atlanta for the annual SHOT Show. Almost immediately, the Georgia Assembly enacted amendments to the State’s firearm preemption law that specifically prohibited the City’s suit. An industry motion to dismiss the case was denied by a lower court, which also refused to allow the industry to appeal. A subsequent law enacted by the legislature allowed the industry’s appeal to proceed. “Atlanta’s lawsuit would not have saved a single life or prevented a single crime from occurring; all it did was waste taxpayer money,” said Lawrence G. Keane, vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Atlanta is the third case, joining New Orleans and Philadelphia, to be dismissed because of a state preemption statute passed expressly to prohibit these reckless, politically motivated suits. “Our industry owes a deep debt of gratitude to the National Rifle Association for its efforts in lobbying for passage, in 27 states, of historic legislation barring reckless litigation against our industry. And those efforts continue in the several states currently considering passage of preemption legislation,” said Keane. Every appellate court to decide a municipal suit has ruled in favor of industry. The list of dismissed cases now includes Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Gary, Bridgeport, Camden County and the State of New York.
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