The handgun industry appeared in a Buffalo courtroom Monday, arguing it cannot be held

responsible for the gun violence that severely wounded Buffalo teenager Daniel "Bud" Williams

in 2003.

In a case that could have broad implications regarding the industry's liability over

illegal handguns, attorneys representing those who manufactured, distributed and initially

sold the gun used to shoot Williams asked Supreme Court Justice Frederick J. Marshall to

dismiss the lawsuit filed by William and his father, Eddie.

"I would never minimize Mr. Williams' injuries, but still, you have to come back to what

the law is," said attorney Scott L. Braum, representing Ohio gun dealer Charles "Charlie"

Brown.

"This is not just about one gun," said Williams' attorney Terrence M. Connors. "There were

140 sold in five months, 87 on the final occasion when the gun [that shot Williams was

purchased.] This is a classic straw purchase."

After listening to three hours of arguments from attorneys on both sides of the debate, in

addition to an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, Marshall reserved decision on the

motion to dismiss the case. Given the complexity of the issues involved, Marshall said it may

take a while — attorneys estimated several weeks or even months — for him to

decide whether there are legal grounds for the case to go forward.

The lawsuit was filed in July 2005, following a series in The Buffalo News, "The Damage

Done." The series detailed how Williams, then 16 and a star athlete at McKinley High School,

was the innocent victim of a drive-by shooting near his Girard Place home. The gun used was

among 250 that Buffalo native James Nigel Bostic, then living in Ohio, purchased at an Ohio

gun show during 2000.

Bostic then sold the handguns on the streets of Buffalo. In addition to the Williams

shooting, the guns were tied to a series of crimes in Buffalo as well as in other states where

they eventually showed up.

During Monday's court session, attorneys for Beemiller Co., an Ohio gun maker; as well as

MKS Supply, an Ohio gun distributor; and Brown, the Ohio gun dealer, argued that there is no

legal basis for the lawsuit the Williams' filed holding them responsible for the 2003

shooting.

New York State, the gun industry lawyers argued, doesn't have jurisdiction in the case

for several reasons. The gun used to shoot Williams, they argued, was legally sold in Ohio,

and the gun dealer had no reason to believe it would be used in a crime by the person who

purchased it.

It is not known, the lawyers pointed out, how the gun eventually ended up in the hands of

Cornell Caldwell, the Buffalo gang member who shot Williams.

In addition, the attorneys argued, the Ohio gun dealer was not conducting business in New

York State. Therefore, New York doesn't have grounds for bringing the Ohio gun dealer to face

charges in New York.

"There is no allegation that Ohio law was broken," Braun said. "There is no evidence that

Mr. Brown regularly conducts business in the State of New York. He had not made 5 cents from

the State of New York. Never sold a gun here. Never received economic benefit from here."

Beyond that, the gun industry lawyers argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed based on

legislation Congress enacted in 2005 limiting the ability to file a civil suit against the gun

industry for crimes committed with handguns.

But attorneys for Williams disagreed on virtually every point the gun industry lawyers

made.

The Williamses are represented by Jonathan Lowy, with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun

Violence in Washington, D.C.; along with Connors, a Buffalo attorney.

Connors and Lowy argued that it was obvious Bostic used his Ohio girlfriends to purchase

guns for him, and it should have also been obvious to the gun dealer that the guns would be

used to commit crimes.

Bostic would typically go to a gun show with a girlfriend, who would fill out all the

paperwork, putting the guns in her name, but Bostic would pay for the guns with cash, the

attorneys said.

Bostic purchased about 250 guns this way, with about 140 purchased from Brown during a

five-month period by Bostic and girlfriend Kimberly Upshaw, the lawyers said.

Most of the guns were Hi-Points, a relatively inexpensive model.

Braum, attorney for the gun dealer, told the court that Bostic had told the dealer he

planned to open a gun shop once obtaining a license to sell firearms in Ohio and that he was

purchasing the guns in anticipation of that.

But Williams' attorneys noted that Brown has a history of selling guns that end up in the

hands of criminals. Over a recent four-year period, New York City police recovered some 630

firearms Brown originally sold, according to records.

In addition, Connors said, more than 13,000 Hi-Point guns, manufactured by Beemiller, have

been used in crimes, according to federal records.

What's more, Lowy charged that Brown, the dealer, has been so closely connected with MKS,

the gun distributor, that it's fair to view them as one in the same.

Lowy also contended that Brown and the gun manufacturer, Tom Deeb, owner of Beemiller Co.,

are very close. "He speaks to Deeb almost daily," Lowy said of Brown.

In addition, Williams' attorneys argued there are exemptions included in the federal law

limiting lawsuits against the gun industry, and, they said, Williams' case meets those

exemptions.

Speaking on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice, attorney Justin M. Sandberg defended

the constitutionality of the federal law but also told Marshall that the court should, if

possible, rule on statutory grounds.

Neither Williams nor his father attended Monday's court session.

Williams was shooting baskets near his home in August 2003 when he was shot with a 9mm

bullet that ripped through his stomach. Williams thought he was going to die that day, but

survived, and was able to return to high school. But the injuries cut short what many believed

was his promising basketball career.

His McKinley High School coach at the time had said Williams had the talent to be awarded a

scholarship by a Division I team.

Instead of Division I, Williams has been attending Erie Community College, and playing a

little basketball, his mother, Michelle Williams, said when contacted Monday.

After the shooting, Caldwell, a known gang member, was arrested, and convicted of shooting

Williams.

Bostic also was arrested, and imprisoned on gun trafficking charges.

The gun dealer, distributor and manufacturer were not charged. All said they never

knowingly sell guns to criminals.