{"id":1452889,"date":"2024-01-24T19:45:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T00:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1452889"},"modified":"2024-01-24T19:45:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T00:45:00","slug":"mexicos-10-billion-lawsuit-against-us-gun-manufacturers-to-proceed-appeals-court-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/mexicos-10-billion-lawsuit-against-us-gun-manufacturers-to-proceed-appeals-court-rules\/1452889\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexico’s $10 Billion Lawsuit Against US Gun Manufacturers To Proceed, Appeals Court Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mexico’s $10 Billion Lawsuit Against US Gun Manufacturers To Proceed, Appeals Court Rules<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Naveen Athrapully via The Epoch Times,<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

A $10 billion lawsuit by Mexico against U.S. gunmakers, alleging that the companies \u201cdeliberately\u201d enabled firearms trafficking into the country, can move forward, an appeals court has ruled.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The lawsuit, filed by the Mexican government against seven American manufacturers and a distributor in 2021, alleged that the companies \u201cdeliberately facilitate gun trafficking\u201d into Mexico, according to the Jan. 22 ruling issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit.<\/p>\n

The complaint was initially filed at the federal district court in Massachusetts, which dismissed the lawsuit after deciding that U.S. gun companies were protected by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) against Mexican claims.<\/p>\n

The PLCAA prohibits certain lawsuits against gun manufacturers and sellers in U.S. federal and state courts. The appeals court agreed that \u201cPLCAA\u2019s limitations on the types of lawsuits that may be maintained in the United States apply to lawsuits initiated by foreign governments for harm suffered outside the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the appeals court observed that Mexico\u2019s complaint potentially alleges a type of claim that could be \u201cstatutorily exempt\u201d from PLCAA\u00a0rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe therefore reverse the district court\u2019s holding that the PLCAA bars Mexico\u2019s common law claims, and we remand for further proceedings,\u201d the court stated.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe conclude that the complaint adequately alleges that defendants aided and abetted the knowingly unlawful downstream trafficking of their guns into Mexico.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The lawsuit seeks $10 billion in compensation.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Lowy, president of Global Action on Gun Violence and co-counsel for the Mexican government in the case, welcomed the appeals court decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s ruling is a huge step forward in holding the gun industry accountable for its contribution to gun violence, and in stopping the flood of trafficked guns to the cartels,\u201d<\/strong> he said in a Jan. 22 statement.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNot only did the Court recognize the right of another country to sue U.S. gun companies, it also pierced the unfair legal shield that gun companies have been hiding behind since 2005.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Texas-based litigator Steve Shadowen said the court ruling \u201cmarks an important step forward in holding the gun industry accountable for its role in transnational arms trafficking and in obtaining justice for the victims of their unlawful business practices, the people of Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Scapegoating\u2019<\/h2>\n

Lawrence Keane, chief lobbyist and media spokesperson for the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), disagrees with the decision. The organization is \u201creviewing our legal options,\u201d he said<\/a> in a Jan. 23 post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.<\/p>\n

\u201cMexico should spend its time enforcing its own laws & bring Mexican criminals to justice in Mexican courtrooms, instead of scapegoating the firearm industry for their unwillingness to protect Mexican citizens,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> he wrote.<\/p>\n

Kostas Moros, an attorney who represents the California Rifle & Pistol Association, called Mexico\u2019s argument in the case \u201ccomical on its face,\u201d according to an X post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe basic idea is US gun laws are causing violence in Mexico. But that country has six times our homicide rate. If some smuggled guns from here are the problem in Mexico, we’d have a much worse problem here,\u201d <\/strong><\/em>he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMexico\u2019s complete failure to bring cartels to heel is not the fault of the United States nor its Second Amendment.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThese cartels are extremely wealthy and would always be able to get a hold of firearms. They are billion-dollar sophisticated businesses, not random gangbangers. Plus, Mexico has long had very high homicide rates. This isn\u2019t some new thing.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Focus on US Gun Industry<\/h2>\n

In its lawsuit, Mexico states that while having strict gun laws, the country has the third highest gun-related deaths globally. Mexico claims that it has just one gun store in the entire nation and issues fewer than 50 firearm permits annually.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number of gun-related homicides in Mexico grew from fewer than 2,500 in 2003 to approximately 23,000 in 2019. The percentage of homicides committed with a gun similarly rose from 15 percent in 1997 to 69 percent in 2021,\u201d the appeals court ruling states.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mexico insists that the increase in gun violence \u201ccorrelates with the increase of gun production in the United States\u201d since the end in 2004 of the U.S. ban on so-called assault weapons.<\/p>\n

\u201cMexico claims that between 70 and 90 percent of the guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico were trafficked into the country from the United States.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mexico\u2019s claims have been opposed by a coalition<\/a> of 20 state attorneys general who filed an amicus brief in the case seeking to protect U.S. firearms makers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMexico claims that gun violence in its country increased because of the expiration of the U.S. assault weapons ban in 2004,\u201d the brief<\/a> said. \u201cBut homicide rates in Mexico declined in the three years after the assault-weapons ban ended and didn\u2019t increase until Mexico declared war on its drug cartels in late 2006.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It dismissed the argument that U.S.\u00a0manufacturers are to blame for increased gun violence in Mexico.<\/p>\n

This theory \u201crests entirely on the factual assertion that American gun manufacturers knowingly cause Mexican gun violence. But its theory falls apart under even cursory scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Contrary to Mexico\u2019s claims that American guns are \u2018among the deadliest and most often recovered at crime scenes in Mexico,\u2019 only a minority of guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico can be traced back to the United States,\u201d<\/strong> the states argued.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAmong the American guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico, many were sold wholesale to the Mexican military and law enforcement and only ended up in cartel hands after soldiers or policemen deserted.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin told<\/a> The Epoch Times in May 2023 that the lawsuit was \u201cpart of a broad strategy by anti-gun activists to try to shut down firearms manufacturing\u201d in the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act to protect American businesses from these kinds of frivolous lawsuits.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nWed, 01\/24\/2024 – 14:45<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bRead More<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mexico’s $10 Billion Lawsuit Against US Gun Manufacturers To Proceed, Appeals Court Rules Authored by Naveen Athrapully via The Epoch Times, A $10 billion lawsuit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1452889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1452889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1452889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1452889\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1452889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1452889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1452889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}