A federal appellate court is considering whether gun manufacturers should enjoy immunity from lawsuits brought by foreign governments in a case dealing with weapons trafficked across the U.S.-Mexico border to criminal organizations.
The government of Mexico has sued more than half a dozen gun makers such as Smith & Wesson and Glock, arguing that they have aided and abetted criminal organizations south of the border.
According to the Mexican government, the gun makers know their weapons are sold to gun traffickers and the manufacturers should be held liable.
Mexican officials have asked U.S. courts to require that the gun manufacturers screen for “red flags” to identify traffickers, limit supply and implement other safety protocols to protect weapons from flowing into Mexico.
“The Second Amendment is a non-issue,” said Jonathan E. Lowy, who represented the Mexican government before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard arguments in the case on Monday.
Former U.S. Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco represented the gun manufacturers and told the appellate court that there’s no evidence the gun companies aid and abet criminal organizations.
Under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005, gun manufacturers and dealers are shielded from civil lawsuits in the United States for crimes committed with their firearms.
However, several gun companies in recent years have settled lawsuits that were brought to U.S. courts.
The Mexico lawsuit, which originally was filed in August 2021 in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, asks judges to determine whether gun makers’ umbrella of immunity extends beyond U.S. borders. Drug cartels, human traffickers and other criminal organizations are known to buy and use weapons supplied to them from north of the border, Mexican officials say.
Mexico filed suit against Smith & Wesson Brands Inc.; Barrett Firearms Manufacturing Inc.; Beretta USA Corp.; Beretta Holding S.p.A.; Century International Arms Inc.; Colt’s Manufacturing Co. LLC, Glock Inc.; Glock Gas.m.b.H.; Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc.; Witmer Public Safety Group Inc. and D/B/A Interstate Arms.
The case now is pending before a three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit: Judges William J. Kayatta Jr., an Obama appointee; Gustavo A. Gelpi Jr., a Biden appointee; and Lara E. Montecalvo, a Biden appointee.
Mr. Lowy, in representing Mexico’s interests, insisted that the manufacturers are violating federal law, including the machine gun ban.
“Every year, Defendants’ deliberate business practices result in some 340,000 of their guns being unlawfully imported from the United States into Mexico. Drug cartels and other criminal organizations use these military-style weapons to wreak havoc in Mexico and terrorize its populace,” Mexico argued in its legal brief.
Mexico’s lawyers said sniper rifles and semi-automatic weapons that can be transformed into machine guns are being uncovered across the border.
Mexico has one gun store located on a military base, yet the country has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, according to Mexico’s filing. Officials blame U.S. gun manufacturers’ guns being trafficked into their land.
“They know they are supplying the cartels. They know their guns are favorites of notorious gun-trafficking rings and are regularly used in horrendous incidents in Mexico,” the brief reads. “Defendants nevertheless refuse to monitor and discipline their distribution systems.”
The U.S. District Court ruled against Mexico, reasoning that violence in that country is incidental, and applied the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
Mexico‘s appeal is now in the hands of the 1st Circuit, which could issue its ruling at any time.
Mr. Francisco, the former solicitor general who is representing the gun makers, stressed that the lawsuit could have sweeping implications on Americans’ gun rights.
“You’re talking about a lawsuit that has potentially crippling effects on firearms owners to obtain firearms,” Mr. Francisco said.
In recent years, gun companies and dealers have settled lawsuits claiming they have liability following mass killings.
In 2022, Remington settled with families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 that killed 26 students and educators for $73 million, according to The Associated Press.
And in 2004, families of eight victims of the D.C. snipers won a $2.5 million settlement from a gun dealer and Bushmaster Firearms Inc.
