US Supreme Court unanimously shoots down Mexico in lawsuit alleging gun smuggling to cartels

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling Thursday against the claims in a lawsuit from the Mexican government alleging that gun manufacturers were complicit in arms smuggling.

The Mexican government says that gun manufacturers in the U.S. were looking the other way as their guns illegally ended up crossing the border and getting in the hands of dangerous drug cartels.

‘We have little doubt that, as the complaint asserts, some such sales take place — and that the manufacturers know they do. But still, Mexico has not adequately pleaded what it needs to.’

Mexico’s attorneys pointed out that guns were severely restricted there, but the country was still awash in guns.

“You can’t hide behind the middleman and pretend like you don’t know what’s happening,” said Jonathan Lowy, the president of Global Action on Gun Violence and co-counsel for Mexico.

National Shooting Sports Foundation attorney Lawrence Keane offered a clever analogy to dismantle the accusation from the Mexican government. He said that if a “lawful distribution system that’s approved under federal law” was the evidence for aiding and abetting gun smuggling, then that principle would apply to alcohol sales as well.

“If that was all that was required, Budweiser would be responsible for drunk driving accidents all across the United States, and apparently including Mexico,” said Keane.

The Supreme Court unanimously agreed and shot down Mexico’s lawsuit.

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Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

“Mexico’s complaint does not plausibly allege that the defendant manufacturers aided and abetted gun dealers’ unlawful sales of firearms to Mexican traffickers,” wrote Justice Elena Kagan.

“We have little doubt that, as the complaint asserts, some such sales take place — and that the manufacturers know they do,” she added. “But still, Mexico has not adequately pleaded what it needs to.”

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2021 against Smith & Wesson, Colt, Glock, and other manufacturers. Mexico was seeking $10 billion in damages.

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