Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Oral arguments are set to begin this week in the lawsuit brought against six United States gun makers by the government of Mexico.
On August 4, 2021, Breitbart News reported the government of Mexico was suing six U.S. gun makers and one Boston-area wholesaler, claiming “massive damage” created by “unlawful trafficking” of firearms to cartel and criminal elements.
The Mexican Government’s suit opens with trafficking claims and naming the six manufacturers and the wholesaler:
Plaintiff Estados Unidos Mexicanos (the “Government”), a sovereign nation, brings this action to put an end to the massive damage that the Defendants cause by actively facilitating the unlawful trafficking of their guns to drug cartels and other criminals in Mexico. Almost all guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico — 70% to 90% of them — were trafficked from the U.S. The Defendants include the six U.S.-based manufacturers whose guns are most often recovered in Mexico — Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Century Arms, Colt, Glock, and Ruger. Another manufacturer defendant is Barrett, whose .50 caliber sniper rifle is a weapon of war prized by the drug cartels. The remaining defendant — Interstate Arms — is a Boston-area wholesaler through which all but one of the defendant manufacturers sell their guns for re-sale to gun dealers throughout the U.S.
On April 12, 2022, the BBC noted that oral arguments in the government of Mexico’s suit will begin this week.
The Mexican Government is seeking a portion of the Defendants’ profits, as well as “damages…in an amount to be determined by trial.”
They also seek to be reimbursed for the “costs of suit, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, as provided by law,” and seek payment for other claims as well.
The case is Mexico v. Smith and Wesson, No. 1:21-cv-11269, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.