Mexico’s $10 billion lawsuit against American gun manufacturers has been dismissed by a Massachusetts District Court Judge. The lawsuit claimed that the gun makers were responsible for firearms trafficking and resulting crime in Mexico. The Mexican government argued that the manufacturers were selling weapons that they knew could be smuggled across the border, thereby undermining Massachusetts’s strict gun laws. They further claimed that this influx of U.S.-made guns led to a decline in investment, economic activity, and increased spending on law enforcement.
The lawsuit stated that over 500,000 guns are illegally trafficked from the United States to Mexico every year, with more than 68% of them being made by the companies being sued. However, U.S. District Judge Dennis Saylor ruled that Mexico had not provided enough evidence to prove that the activities of six of the defendant companies in Massachusetts were linked to gun crime in Mexico. He cited jurisdictional problems as the reason for dismissing the lawsuit against Sturm Ruger & Company, Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Glock, Colt’s Manufacturing Company, Century International Arms, and Beretta U.S.A. Corp. Two defendants, Smith & Wesson Brands and wholesaler Witmer Public Safety Group, remain in the case.
Judge Saylor explained that the core question for jurisdictional purposes was whether Mexico’s claims against the six defendants “arose” from their business transactions in Massachusetts. However, he argued that the connection to Massachusetts was weak, as the Mexican government is obviously not a citizen of the state and none of the defendants operate or have a principal place of business there. He also pointed out that no injuries were alleged to have occurred in Massachusetts, and there was no identification of specific firearms sold in the state that caused injury in Mexico.
Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department expressed disappointment with the ruling and stated that the lawsuit would proceed against the remaining defendants while considering alternative legal options. Lawrence Keane, general counsel of industry trade group National Shooting Sports Foundation, welcomed the decision to reject Mexico’s “forum-shopping” and expressed optimism that the U.S. Supreme Court would dismiss the rest of the case.
The lawsuit was initially dismissed in 2022 based on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), a 2005 U.S. law that protects gun manufacturers from damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearms. However, Mexico appealed the ruling, and in January, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Massachusetts revived the lawsuit, arguing that the PLCAA did not apply in this instance.
In conclusion, while Mexico’s $10 billion lawsuit against American gun manufacturers has been dismissed for six out of the eight named defendants, the case will proceed against the remaining two. The court ruling cited jurisdictional problems as the reason for dismissal, stating that Mexico had not provided enough evidence to prove a connection between the defendants’ activities in Massachusetts and gun crime in Mexico. The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for the debate surrounding gun trafficking and its impact on crime rates in neighboring countries.
