A state district judge in San Antonio ruled Monday that relatives of the victims of the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs can sue Academy Sports, the Katy-based sporting goods chain that sold the shooter the rifle he used in the 2017 attack.
Timothy Lytton, professor at Georgia State University College of Law, says this could have implications nationwide because the judge ruled that Academy broke a federal law.
The shooter used a Colorado ID to buy the weapon at a San Antonio Academy store.
“Academy sold the AR-556 that was used in the shooting with a 30-round magazine, and that 30-round magazine is illegal in the state of Colorado,” Lytton says. “You’re not allowed, as a seller of firearms in one state, to sell a firearm to a resident of another state unless the firearm sales comports with the laws both of the state in which you’re selling the weapon and the state where the … buyer comes from.”
What you’ll hear in this segment:
– How the law works when someone has residences in more than one state
– How the background-check system may have failed in this case
– How this could change the way businesses sell firearm accessories
Written by Caroline Covington.
