March 4 (UPI) -- A majority of Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Tuesday of the Mexican government's lawsuit against U.S. gun companies over claims they should share the blame for drug cartel violence.
The lawsuit, originally filed in federal court in Massachusetts in 2021, says the cartels used firearms trafficked from the United States.
"Lots of sellers and manufacturers of ordinary products know that they're going to be misused by some subset of people," said Justice Brett Kavanaugh. He cited carmakers and pharmaceutical companies as other entities in a similar position.
Justice Elena Kagan noted that the Mexican government asserted that the gun makers aid and abet dealers who sell firearms to straw purchasers, but "who are they aiding and abetting in this complaint?"
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Justice Amy Coney Barrett noted that the lawsuit doesn't identify these so-called red-flag dealers, adding that Mexico has not filed suit against retailers in that country.
Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson said lawsuit does not allege the gun companies "knowingly violated the law."
The suit was dismissed in September 2022, with the court citing the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which shields gun manufacturers from being targeted by civil suits stemming from illegal use of their products.
The decision was reversed in January 2024 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, which ruled that the lawsuit falls under an exception to the PLCAA that allows manufacturers to be targeted by lawsuits if they knowingly violated the law.
Jonathan Lowy, a lawyer serving as co-counsel for Mexico and president of Global Action on Gun Violence, alleged the gun manufacturers are aware of unscrupulous gun dealers selling to cartels.
"Manufacturers know who those dealers are, how they're supplying the cartels, and yet they continue to choose to sell their guns through those dealers, and allowing those sales practices," Lowy was quoted as saying by NPR.
A decision in the Smith & Wesson Brands vs. Estados Unidos Mexicanos case is expected by summer.
