Mexico wants the Supreme Court to force US gun manufacturers to turn over $10 billion for contributing to Mexican drug cartel violence.
Mexico won’t deal with their drug cartels who are creating tremendous harm in our country.
They first filed in 2021, blaming the US for their cartels getting guns. Most guns trafficked in Mexico are from the United States.
In their lawsuit, Mexico claimed supplying guns to Mexico’s illegal gun market is a feature, rather than a bug, of the gun makers’ business models.
The district court dismissed the case.
It ruled that a federal law barred Mexico’s claims, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, intended to shield the U.S. gun industry from lawsuits in U.S. courts for the misuse of guns by others.
The 1st Circuit reversed the lower court decision at which point the gun companies appealed to the Supreme Court last April. The Court agreed to hear the case last September.
Liberal and conservative Justices appeared skeptical.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said it appeared that the lawsuit ultimately seeks “changes to the firearm industry” of the kind that the shield law was aiming to forestall.
Justice Samuel Alito raised questions about whether U.S. states could file suit against Mexico for “illegal conduct” it links to activities there.
If they find Americans are seeking to sell guns to cartels, they can pursue with criminal chages. However, a blanket attack on everyone who makes and sells guns is not going to fly.
We should have a decision in the summer.
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