Families of Texas church shooting victims sue gun retailer

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Families of Texas church shooting victims sue gun retailer

March 1, 2019

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Family members of victims of a Texas church shooting are suing a sporting goods chain that sold the weapons used in the 2017 massacre.

The lawsuit filed in state district court in San Antonio alleges Academy Sports & Outdoors illegally sold the assault-style rifle, high-capacity magazine and ammunition to Devin Kelley. It argues Kelley shouldn’t have been able buy the firearm from the New Braunfels, Texas, store because he showed an ID from Colorado, which prohibits the sale of high-capacity weapons.

Kelley used the weapons to kill more than two dozen people at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. Each family seeks $1 million in damages.

Some families have also separately sued the U.S. Air Force for failing to report Kelley’s past crimes to a federal database.

https://apnews.com/b6d9a6a6c2194b62a733d7ca0041afa6

[oneshooter]

1. So EVERY dealer in EVERY state has to know and enforce

the laws of EVERY state?

[gejohnston]

4. the clerk violated an obscure Texas law,

that allows long gun sales only to Texas residents.

[sarisataka]

2. My understanding is

State laws end at the state border and do not carry into other states. Also IIRC one of the options of the Colorado law banning high capacity magazines was to move them outside of the state, implying a Colorado resident may own such a magazine as long as the magazine is not in Colorado.

I expect that portion of the suit will be thrown out and there will be much outrage that the families are stuck with large legal bills.

[gejohnston]

3. the clerk violated an obscure Texas law,

that allows long gun sales only to Texas residents.

[gejohnston]

5. correction,

my understanding is that the clerk violated an obscure Texas law that only allows long gun sales to Texas residents. Under the Gun Control Act, handgun sales can only be within state of residence, but interstate long gun sales may take place as long the laws of both states are followed.
https://www.cabelas.com/assets/product_files/pdf/federal_state_firearms_regs_online.pdf

Since magazines are not firearms, I'm not sure how that would work out as far as the Gun Control Act is concerned.