The U.S. Supreme Court blocked a lawsuit from Mexico that alleged gun manufacturers fueled cartel violence across the border.
The $10 billion lawsuit by Mexico accused gunmakers of allowing their products to be smuggled into the country to be used by cartels. The suit targeted several large gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson, Colt and Beretta.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously to toss out the case. Justices found that Mexico hadn’t shown that the companies knowingly allowed their products to be smuggled by criminals.
Mexico says somewhere around 70% of the weapons used by cartels come in illegally from the United States. Mexico itself has very strict gun laws, and there’s only one legal gun shop in the country.
Case against Arizona gun shops, distributors not yet decided
In her daily morning press conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government is now awaiting the results of a different lawsuit.
“There are two trials, we’re going to see the result of the other,” Sheinbaum told reporters. The other lawsuit, filed in 2022, is against five gun shops and distributors in Arizona.
Mexico accuses them of facilitating gun trafficking across the border. That case is still making its way through Arizona courts.
In Arizona, Republicans celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss Mexico’s lawsuit against gun manufacturers.
"Blaming the firearms industry for criminals murdering people is like blaming the auto industry for drunk drivers causing fatal crashes,” said Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen in a statement. “Companies participating in lawful business practices are not participants in misconduct just because their products are used in a criminal fashion."
A 2005 law protects gunmakers from most civil lawsuits that allege manufacturers should bear responsibility for how customers use their products.
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