Dwight sent over the text of a firearms case decision in “ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS, Plaintiff, v. SMITH & WESSON BRANDS, INC.” etc., or Mexico v Smith & Wesson et. al. (“Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc.; Beretta USA Corp.; Century International Arms, Inc.; Colt’s Manufacturing Company, LLC; Glock, Inc.; Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.; and Witmer Public Safety Group, Inc. d/b/a Interstate Arms.”)
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for Massachusetts (because venue shopping) and the decision was handed down by Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV.
TLDR summary: Judge Saylor threw out the case.
A U.S. federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Mexican government against U.S. gun manufacturers arguing their commercial practices has led to bloodshed in Mexico.
Judge F. Dennis Saylor in Boston ruled Mexico’s claims did not overcome the broad protection provided to gun manufacturers by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act passed in 2005.
The law shields gun manufacturers from damages “resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse” of a firearm.
Quoting the text of the decision itself (which does not yet appear to be online anywhere):
Unfortunately for the government of Mexico, all of its claims are either barred by federal law or fail for other reasons. The PLCAA unequivocally bars lawsuits seeking to hold gun manufacturers responsible for the acts of individuals using guns for their intended purpose. And while the statute contains several narrow exceptions, none are applicable here.
This Court does not have the authority to ignore an act of Congress. Nor is its proper role to devise stratagems to avoid statutory commands, even where the allegations of the complaint may evoke a sympathetic response. And while the Court has considerable sympathy for the people of Mexico, and none whatsoever for those who traffic guns to Mexican criminal organizations, it is duty-bound to follow the law.
Accordingly, and for the reasons set forth below, the motions
to dismiss will be granted.
Not a picture of Judge Saylor.
This, of course, is the proper outcome. Lawful American gun manufacturers can’t be held accountable for the misuse of their products, nor should they be made scapegoats for Mexico’s inability to control their own criminal cartels.
Tags: Barrett .50, Colt Firearms, Crime, drug war, F. Dennis Saylor IV, Foreign Policy, Glock, Guns, Lawsuit, Massachusetts, Mexico, Mexico v Smith & Wesson, Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, Smith & Wesson, Sturm Ruger & Co. Inc., United States District Court for Massachusetts
Shouldn’t the Mexican government go after two of the most flagrant cross border gun-runners in recent history? They should be easy enough to find–Barack Obama and Eric Holder.
Back in 2008, I seem to recall that more than 2/3 of the firearms captured from the Cartels, by Mexican authorities, were found to have been stolen from the Mexican military – H&K had licensed a particular firearm variant to SEDENA; it was not available anywhere for non-military use but the Cartels seemed to have crates of them.
This action smack of Mexico trying to divert attention away from its own problems, again.
The Mexicans have only themselves to blame. There’s one legal gun store in Mexico City for the entire country, run by the Mexican Army. Think about that for a second, and then consider the implications.
If the cartels have weapons, how’d they get them? Oh, right–Bribery and corruption, two things that the Mexican government does very well.
Most of the weapons that they had traced, that traced back to the US? Here’s the twofold lie in that BS: Most of the weapons they wanted traced were made in the US; if they weren’t, then they didn’t request traces on them. Two, the vast majority of them were weapons transferred to the Mexican government, then “lost” by that government.
Mexico bears much of the responsibility for its own problems. Blaming US gun manufacturers was likely something they were put up to by our own government.
[…] all that the Mexican government tries to blame American arms manufacturers for arming the cartels, it appears that they’re getting their weapons from a source much closer […]