The state Supreme Court will hear Wednesday the case of a pawn shop that was sued for selling a mentally ill woman the gun she used to kill her father.
Janet Delana says she called Odessa Gun & Pawn and told them not to sell her daughter a gun – that she was mentally ill and under care. Two days later the shop sold the daughter a gun that she used to kill her father and to attempt to kill herself. The daughter later plead not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect and was committed to the custody of the state Department of Mental Health.
Delana sued the store for ignoring her warning not to sell to someone in such a mental state. She accuses the store’s owner and manager of negligence.
A lower court sided with the store, finding that federal law barred her claims of negligence. She and several organizations are asking the Court to allow the case to proceed.
Several organizations have weighed in on the case, including the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, and National Latina Network: Casa de Esperanza.