Blitz Bureau
WASHINGTON: The U.S. Supreme Court decided on October 4 to hear U.S. gun makers’ appeal in Mexico’s ongoing $10 billion lawsuit against firearms companies.
In the lawsuit, Mexico is seeking $10 billion from U.S. gun companies for allegedly flooding that country with firearms. Mexico blames the companies for a violent crime wave, saying their actions benefited criminal cartels.
Mexico also claims that illegal gun trafficking into that country is driven largely by Mexican drug cartels’ demands for military-style weapons.
Although some gun control activists welcome Mexico’s lawsuit, gun rights advocates say it constitutes foreign interference in U.S. affairs and is aimed at crippling the U.S. firearms industry and weakening the Second Amendment protections enjoyed by Americans.
The gun companies say the suit is barred by the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) of 2005, which was enacted to protect the industry from frivolous lawsuits.
The justices granted the petition in Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos without comment. No justices dissented.
Smith & Wesson had asked the court to expedite its petition on August. 8, the day after a lower court threw out the case against six out of eight gun companies in the lawsuit, which is pending in federal district court in Massachusetts. The decision left gun maker Smith & Wesson and gun wholesaler Interstate Arms remaining as defendants.
The appeal concerns the January 22 decision of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit that allowed the lawsuit to proceed.
