(CN) --- The Texas Supreme Court tossed several lawsuits Friday claiming retailer Academy Sports and Outdoors was negligent in selling the rifle and ammunition used in the mass shooting at a Sutherland Springs church that killed 26 people and injured 20.
In a unanimous 8-0 ruling, the all-Republican high court concluded Academy is protected by the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Passed in 2005, the law protects firearm retailers and manufacturers from most lawsuits relating to “criminal conduct of third parties.”
The plaintiffs sued Academy in state court for selling a Ruger AR-556 semi-automatic rifle equipped with a 30-round magazine and selling an additional 30-round magazine to Devin Kelley, who fired indiscriminately at parishioners at the First Baptist Church near San Antonio in November 2017. The dead ranged from 18 months to 77 years old. Kelley later killed himself after a confrontation outside of the church with firearms instructor Stephen Willeford. Friday’s dismissal comes after trial courts and intermediate appeals courts refused to dismiss the lawsuits.
The high court was not persuaded by the plaintiff’s argument that the sale of the ammunition was illegal under Colorado law because Kelley provided Academy identification from Colorado and a Colorado address. Colorado law bans the sale of magazines holding more than 14 rounds, so the plaintiffs claim the sale had to comply with both Colorado and Texas law under the federal Gun Control Act.
Writing for the court, Justice Debra Lehrmann disagreed with the plaintiffs that the rifle and the magazine it was packaged with are considered together.
“That reliance is misplaced,” the 25-page opinion states. “As used in the Gun Control Act, ‘firearm’ is a term of art that includes some component parts but not others. Under the applicable statutory definition, which makes no mention of packaging, a magazine simply is not a firearm.”
The judge added the Colorado limitation in magazine size is “immaterial” because the Gun Control Act does not regulate the sale of magazines.
Friday’s dismissal of the state lawsuits against Academy does not apply to a federal lawsuit the survivors and relatives have filed against federal officials and the Air Force. The plaintiffs claim in that case the military failed to report that Kelley was convicted in a 2012 court martial of assaulting his wife and stepson, resulting in a dishonorable discharge. U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez has been deliberating the case since a 10-day bench trial was held in April.
Justice Eva Guzman did not vote in Friday’s dismissal. She resigned from the court four days ago to run for the Republican nomination for Texas Attorney General, seeking to unseat scandal-plagued Ken Paxton.
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