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From CBS News: The Supreme Court is set to consider Tuesday whether to block the Mexican government’s effort to hold U.S. gun companies accountable for the havoc and violence the country has experienced at the hands of drug cartels armed with firearms trafficked across the southern border.
The legal battle marks the first time that the Supreme Court will consider a federal law known as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA. Enacted with bipartisan support from Congress in 2005, the law provides a legal shield for gun companies from civil suits seeking to hold them liable for harms stemming from the criminal misuse of their products by another person.
But the case, known as Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, also lands before the high court as it has emerged as a bargaining tool in negotiations between President Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. The Trump administration has designated Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups and threatened 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico. Sheinbaum warned last month that if the U.S. declared the cartels as terrorists, her government would expand its lawsuit against the American gunmakers.
The report states that “between 200,000 to 500,000 American-made guns are trafficked into Mexico each year, a pipeline that’s been called the “iron river.” Nearly half of all guns recovered at Mexican crime scenes are manufactured in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.”
CBS notes that Mexico has very restrictive firearms laws, and only one gun store in their entire country.
Instead of focusing on the smugglers, the Mexican government filed a $10 billion lawsuit against 7 of the biggest gun manufacturers in the U.S. and one wholesaler in 2021.
In September 2022, a federal district court in Massachusetts dismissed the lawsuit, but in January 2024, a panel of three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit reversed the district court’s decision and revived Mexico’s lawsuit,” CBS explained.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will consider whether to block the Mexican government’s effort to hold U.S. gun companies accountable for the violence the country has seen due to drug cartels armed with trafficked firearms.
https://t.co/wz0zxQlEES— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) March 3, 2025
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