John,

I have big news to share. And it’s very good news — which I know we all really need to hear these days. But first, I wanted to share this photo — below. This is 13-year-old J.R. Gustafson. In 2016, he was killed when his friend unintentionally shot him with a gun thought to be unloaded. That gun lacked a crucial safety feature that could have prevented this tragedy. We at Brady Legal took up J.R.’s case, and we’ve spent years now fighting for justice. 

Well, this week, a court ruled in our case: J.R's family can have their day in court against the gun industry. And — finally — so can victims of gun violence everywhere. (Keep reading, I’ll explain.)
 

13-year-old J.R. Gustafson deserves justice in his name.

In its ruling, a Pennsylvania court struck down the harmful, longstanding gun industry protection law that prevents the gun industry from being held liable in court. Brady has been fighting this federal law — called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) — for years. 

But in the ruling on our case, the court struck down this gun industry protection law as unconstitutional. The court called it “repugnant to the Constitution of the United States.” We couldn’t say it better ourselves.

If this victory holds, and other courts follow it, gun makers and sellers will no longer be immune in court. Victims and their families — like J.R’s parents — will have a path to justice. And gun makers, like the one that made the gun that killed J.R., can be pushed to make business and manufacturing reforms — in this case, requiring firearm safety features — that will prevent tragedies and save lives.

I cannot underscore this enough: this is a landmark victory for victims of gun violence, and it will also pave the way for lifesaving reforms. This, John, is the ruling we have been waiting for. This is the breakthrough our entire Brady Legal team has spent years fighting for. 

This is why I do this work with Brady: because we can change the law and save lives. And we can help secure justice for families — like J.R.’s parents, who lost their 13-year-old son because of the gun industry’s lack of consequences and subsequent indifference toward safety.

But we can only continue this work with your support, John. You can help us keep this momentum going. Will you make a tax-deductible gift now?

This week, I celebrated 23 years on Brady’s legal team, and I could not be more proud of what we have accomplished. But while we celebrate this latest legal victory, there is far more work to be done. The gun industry will be sure to fight this ruling, and cases like it that we are litigating across the country.

With your support, we will continue to fight in courtrooms across the country to ensure the gun industry does not put profits over people’s lives — J.R. and other victims like him deserve that.

Thank you for fighting with us. It's working.

Sincerely,

Jon Lowy
Brady Chief Counsel and Vice President of Legal