A judge sees through the Brady Center's lawsuit against an ammo dealer

Federal Judge Orders Brady Center to Pay Ammo Dealer’s Legal Fees After Dismissing Lawsuit

Lucky Gunner says it will donate the money to gun rights groups

AP

BY: Stephen Gutowski 
June 29, 2015 5:00 am

A federal judge has ordered that the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence pay the legal fees of an online ammunition dealer it sued for the Aurora movie theater shooting.

The order, which was issued last week, comes after Judge Richard P. Matsch dismissed the gun control group’s suit that sought to hold Lucky Gunner legally responsible for the 2012 shooting. The Brady Center had argued in their suit that the way Lucky Gunner sells ammunition is “unreasonably dangerous and create a public nuisance.”

“A crazed, homicidal killer should not be able to amass a military arsenal, without showing his face or answering a single question, with the simple click of a mouse,” Brady Center’s Legal Action Project Director Jonathan Lowy said at the time. “If businesses choose to sell military-grade equipment online, they must screen purchasers to prevent arming people like James Holmes.”

Judge Matsch disagreed with the Brady Center’s argument. He said the suit was filed for propaganda purposes. “It is apparent that this case was filed to pursue the political purposes of the Brady Center and, given the failure to present any cognizable legal claim, bringing these defendants into the Colorado court where the prosecution of James Holmes was proceeding appears to be more of an opportunity to propagandize the public and stigmatize the defendants than to obtain a court order,” he said in his order.

Lucky Gunner praised the court’s decision and vowed to do everything in its power to recover the money awarded to it by the ruling.

“The federal judge on the case ruled it was apparent that this suit was filed to pursue the Brady Center’s ‘political purposes’ and was used as an ‘opportunity to propagandize the public,’” Lucky Gunner spokesman Anthony Welsch said. “Lucky Gunner agrees with the court’s assessment and continues to do all it can to hold the Brady Center accountable for legal fees awarded in the case.”

The company said it would donate that money to a number of gun rights groups and has set up a website to allow its customers to vote on how to distribute the funds.

“Any legal fees Lucky Gunner recovers will be given to 2nd Amendment supporting organizations as voted on by the shooting community,” Welsch said.

The case is now pending appeal.

The Brady Center did not respond to a request for comment.