Gary gun shops are now required to turn their sales records over to the police department if they go out of business. The city council approved the requirement in an ordinance last week.
City Attorney Rodney Pol said the measure is allowed under federal gun laws, and it's another tool in Gary's 24-year legal battle against gun manufacturers, distributors and retailers. "There are certain retailers in our area that are closing up shop, and we wanted to ensure that before they do so, that this law goes into effect for us to be able to get those records through the federal legislation, as well as through the discovery process," Pol told council members.
Pol said the lawsuit has been dismissed and revived a number of times over the years. Some gun shops are not currently named in the litigation, and the ordinance gives the city another way of getting their records.
Outgoing council president William Godwin said he strongly supported the new ordinance. "We know that gun violence continues to be a tremendous issue not only here but everywhere, and so whatever we can do — it seems not controversial from our standpoint to buoy, support, to hold the gun retailers accountable in the effort to prevent and stop gun violence and find those who commit it," Godwin added.
One retailer whose records the city has been seeking, Westforth Sports, announced plans to close earlier this summer.
