The Texas Supreme Court dismissed lawsuits concerning a 2017 mass shooting that left 26 dead in a Sutherland Springs church.
Survivors and family members of victims filed four lawsuits against the retailer who sold a gun to the shooter. The court ruled that the retailer, Academy Sports + Outdoors, conducted a proper background check and can not be held liable for the decisions of the gunman who was a dishonorably discharged Air Force member. Congress enacted the Protection Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005, thereby limiting the liability of firearm retailers and manufacturers.
“Although federal law disqualified Kelley (the gunman) from purchasing a firearm at the time of the sale – based in part on his conviction in a 2012 court-martial for assaulting his wife and stepson and his dishonorable discharge from the United States Air Force – that disqualifying information was not in the system, which authorized Academy to ‘Proceed’ with the sale,” Justice Debra H. Lehrmann wrote. “Litigation against the Air Force for failing to collect, handle and report the required information is ongoing in federal court.”
