The US Supreme Court has blocked a lawsuit brought by Mexico that sought to hold American gunmakers accountable for playing a role in country’s struggle with drug cartels.
Mexico’s original lawsuit was filed in 2021 against eight gun manufacturers, but the cases against six of them were dismissed by a district court.
In its complaint, the Mexican government argued that the gun manufacturers “supply firearms to retail dealers whom they know illegally sell to Mexican gun traffickers”.
The Supreme Court said Mexico’s complaint “does not plausibly allege that the defendant manufacturers aided and abetted gun dealers’ unlawful sales of firearms to Mexican traffickers”.
Mexico’s accusation was more general, the court said – that the manufacturers help a number of unidentified “rogue gun dealers” sell firearms illegally.
A lawsuit filed in Mexico to hold American gun manufacturers responsible for their involvement in the nation’s war on drug cartels was blocked by the US Supreme Court.
By rejecting the lawsuit 9-0, the court upheld a 2005 law that protects gun manufacturers from liability in the event that their products are misused.
The Mexican government has maintained that “deliberate” actions by US companies that allegedly catered to cartel members with their goods are to blame for the “flood” of illegal firearms crossing the border.
The decision reverses a lower court’s decision that permitted the lawsuit against wholesaler Interstate Arms and manufacturer Smith and Wesson to move forward.
Mexico’s initial lawsuit against eight gun manufacturers was filed in 2021, but a district court dismissed the cases against six of them.
With the ruling that the case satisfied an exception to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which restricts the liability of gun manufacturers, the Supreme Court has now dismissed the lawsuit in its entirety.
The Mexican government claimed in its complaint that the gun manufacturers “provide firearms to retail dealers who they know illegally sell to Mexican gun traffickers.”.
The makers allegedly failed to put any restrictions on their distribution systems to stop the weapons from being sold to Mexican traffickers.
Mexico’s complaint “does not plausibly allege that the defendant manufacturers aided and abetted gun dealers’ unlawful sales of firearms to Mexican traffickers,” the Supreme Court ruled.
There is “little doubt” that some firearms are sold to Mexican firearm traffickers, the court stated. The government had not been able to demonstrate that the manufacturers “participate in” those sales, it added, because its complaint did not name any particular illegal transactions.
The court stated that Mexico’s charge was more broad and that the manufacturers assist several unnamed “rogue gun dealers” in unlawfully selling firearms.
The PLCAA shield law, which restricts victims of gun violence’s ability to sue gun manufacturers and dealers for the improper use of their products, has never before been considered by the court.
The court seemed skeptical of Mexico’s challenge during a March hearing, with justices from both ideological camps casting doubt on the suit’s legality.
Approximately 200,000 to 500,000 firearms manufactured in the United States are trafficked to Mexico annually, according to an investigation conducted by CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
Based on data from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, CBS reported that nearly half of the firearms found at crime scenes in Mexico are made in the United States.
