On Thursday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Mexico’s $10 billion lawsuit against major American gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson and Interstate Arms. The Court ruled that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) shields these companies from liability for crimes committed with their products.
Mexico’s lawsuit alleged that the gunmakers knowingly facilitated the trafficking of firearms to drug cartels by supplying dealers who sold to straw purchasers. However, the Court found that Mexico failed to plausibly allege that the manufacturers “aided and abetted” unlawful sales, a necessary condition to bypass PLCAA’s protections.
The Hill reports:
Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the majority, said the lawsuit is barred by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), a 2005 federal law that has provided firearms manufacturers broad legal immunity and come under criticism under from gun control advocates.
Mexico claimed its lawsuit fell under an exception to the PLCAA that still permits lawsuits when a company “knowingly violated” firearms laws and the violation proximately harmed the person suing.
“But that exception, if Mexico’s suit fell within it, would swallow most of the rule,” Kagan wrote. “We doubt Congress intended to draft such a capacious way out of PLCAA, and in fact it did not.”
Mexico sued seven firearms manufacturers and one wholesaler in 2021, including Smith & Wesson and Glock, alleging they aided and abetted violence south of the border by not doing more to stop their guns from falling into Mexican cartels’ hands. Most of the companies had since been dismissed from the lawsuit on other grounds, but two remained.
The decision underscores the broad legal immunity granted to U.S. gun manufacturers under PLCAA, even in cases involving foreign governments seeking accountability for cross-border violence linked to American-made firearms.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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