Supreme Court declines hearing Chicago gun sales case

By Andrew Rice | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court declined hearing a case that alleged an Indiana gun shop fueled gun violence in Chicago.

The case, Westforth Sports v. Chicago, accused an Indiana gun shop of selling firearms to “straw purchasers,” or people who buy an item to conceal the identity of someone else.

Lawyers for the city said Westforth Sports did not conduct proper background checks on firearm buyers.

“The City provided extensive allegations and evidence of Westforth’s deliberate actions to access the Illinois market by knowingly selling guns to straw purchasers,” lawyers for Chicago wrote in a brief to the court.

The lawsuit, which began in 2021, led to the eventual closure of Westforth Sports in 2023.

Lawyers for Westforth Sports argued that Chicago cannot seek to litigate against an entity that is outside of Illinois.

“Specific personal jurisdiction does not lie against an out-of-state seller of firearms when a third party transfers them of their own initiative into the forum state,” lawyers for Westforth Sports wrote.

Chicago alleged Westforth sold more than 300 guns between 2014 and 2021 to known straw buyers. The lawyers said those guns were used in homicides, shootings and assaults.

An Illinois Appeals Court ruled in favor of Chicago, finding the gun store targeted Illinois customers and regularly sold to Illinois buyers, including straw purchasers.

In a brief order, justices of the U.S. Supreme Court denied Westforth Sports’ petition to hear the case.