The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that the City of Philadelphia cannot sue gun manufacturers for damage extending from the unlawful use of firearms. Plaintiff attorneys alleged that the gun industry marketed firearms directly to criminals. According to the court, the public nuisance claim was "flawed" because of the difficulty connecting manufacturers to gun-related crimes.

The three-judge panel said the "causal chain" was "too attenuated" and that gunshot victims, rather than a municipal government, would make more appropriate plaintiffs. Industry attorneys successfully argued that gun manufacturers simply distribute firearms to independent, federally licensed resellers, and as such, are not "in control of the guns when they are misused."