SCOTUS to Weigh Mexico's Billion-Dollar Lawsuit Against US Gunmakers

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Facts

  • The US Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear Smith & Wesson Brands et. al. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, a bid to end a billion-dollar lawsuit from the Mexican government against US firearm manufacturers.[1][2][3]
  • This comes as companies and more than two dozen Republican state attorneys general asked the Supreme Court earlier this year to intervene in the case to prevent years of costly litigation for the gun industry.[4][5]
  • A federal district judge in Boston had dismissed the lawsuit two years ago on the grounds that a 2005 federal law barred such legal action, but a unanimous three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals revived the suit in January.[6][7]
  • Mexico sued eight US companies — seven gun manufacturers and one distributor — in 2021 for allegedly aiding and abetting traffickers and cartels. Smith & Wesson and Witmer Public Safety Group Inc. are the only remaining defendants as the other six were found to lack enough ties to Massachusetts.[6][8][9][10]
  • Mexico claims the companies named in the case deliberately 'violated laws applicable to the sale or marketing of firearms' to 'profit off the criminal market for their products,' accounting for more than two-thirds of guns smuggled into the country.[2][5]
  • The US Supreme Court will open its new term on Monday, with this case and others granted on Friday expected to be argued and decided before July.[1][11]

Sources: [1]Wsj, [2]The Hill, [3]Supremecourt, [4]Reuters, [5]FOX News, [6]New York Times, [7]Politico, [8]The Washington Times, [9]Bloomberg, [10]The Detroit News and [11]CNN.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by BostonGlobe.com. This lawsuit is key in holding the US gun industry accountable for its contribution to violence at home and abroad and stopping the flood of trafficked guns into cartels. It's utterly unfair to grant a legal shield to companies that are at the core of the gun violence problem.
  • Right narrative, as provided by National Review. The lawsuit is misplaced and baseless. Gun manufacturers in the US do produce a lawful product — and there's no similar issue in its border with Canada. Mexico should focus on bringing drug cartels to justice in its courtrooms instead of scapegoating the US gun industry for its own failed enforcement policies.

Predictions