A federal judge upholds a Delaware law that gives the state the right to hold gun manufacturers and dealers accountable for straw purchases.
Attorney General Kathy Jennings says these sellers are required to report suspicious gun purchases. But when they do not, the KeKe Anderson Safe Firearm Sales Act passed in 2022 allows them to be held responsible for the consequences, making Delaware the first state in the nation to repeal a gun industry liability shield.
“But if they’re never reported, that’s a big problem since that is the primary way that guns get into the hands of violent people,” Jennings says.
The bill was named after Anderson, an innocent bystander who was killed in a 2016 shooting involving a firearm bought through a straw purchase at Cabela’s.
The lawsuit - brought by the National Shooting Sports Foundation - argued Delaware’s law violates federal law and Second Amendment rights. But late last week, Delaware U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews ruled the group lacked standing to bring the suit.
“You can’t just bring a lawsuit out of thin air, you have to have some skin in the game,” Jennings says.
Jennings says the gun lobby claims to speak for gun owners, but its priority is protecting profits.
She adds there are warning signs for dealers and manufacturers to be wary of like bulk purchases.
“In Delaware, the primary way that guns get into the hands of prohibited persons is through straw purchases," Jennings says. "And so this law enables the state to bring a lawsuit when either the manufacturer or the gun dealer has been negligent in their handling of transactions, or in any other way negligent.”
Earlier this year, the same federal court also ruled against challenges to Delaware’s assault weapons ban and large-capacity magazine ban.
