Dear GAGV,
Some cases achieve more despite a loss than others achieve with a victory. Mexico’s gun manufacturer lawsuit (Estados Unidos Mexicanos v. Smith & Wesson) is a prime example.
The case originated almost six years ago, when Mexican government officials reached out to me to discuss what legal actions could be taken to protect their people from gunfire. A 21-year-old man, armed with anti-immigrant/anti-Hispanic hate and an assault rifle, had just killed 23 and wounded 22 Mexicans and Mexican-Americans at the Walmart in El Paso, Texas. At the same time, an “Iron Pipeline” continued to flood Mexico with illegally trafficked guns from the U.S. -- an estimated 250,000 U.S. guns each year. U.S. guns armed the cartels and other criminals south of the border, causing rampant violence and crime in and outside of Mexico, widespread fentanyl trafficking into the U.S., and spurring migration. Mexico’s tough gun laws were subverted by the “Iron Pipeline,” which is supplied by reckless U.S. gun industry business practices.
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The Government of Mexico, to its great credit, wanted to take bold action to stop the bloodshed. |
Together, we decided to do something that had never been done before to tackle the crime gun pipeline at its source: we brought the biggest lawsuit ever against gun companies – the first ever on behalf of a sovereign nation. Mexico sued eight major gun manufacturers who supply the Iron Pipeline – and who supply much of the U.S. crime gun market as well. The lawsuit alleged that these manufacturers sell guns not just through the 90+% of gun dealers who are law-abiding, they also deliberately supply the worst of the worst dealers who repeatedly sell guns to obvious gun traffickers. The manufacturers do this to profit off the criminal gun market, knowing full well that innocent people in Mexico – and the U.S. – suffer as a result.
Mexico’s Smith & Wesson lawsuit sparked a global conversation and a new way to analyze the global gun violence crisis. The detailed complaint educated policymakers throughout the world that gun trafficking is not just a product of individual criminal traffickers; it is a consequence of deliberate decisions by bad actors in the gun industry. As a result, focusing solely on individual traffickers is a game of “Whack-A-Mole” that never ends, as new traffickers replace ones who are arrested. The gun trafficking pipeline can be most effectively stopped by shutting off the spigot at its source: the gun industry.
Mexico's case has been discussed at the United Nations, at international conferences, in major media throughout the world, and by world leaders. A 60 Minutes segment on Mexico’s lawsuits was the highest-watched piece ever on the gun industry’s role in fueling gun violence. The case reframed gun trafficking strategies, opening the eyes of policymakers about how gun trafficking works, and how it can truly be stopped.
It also helped generate action. The U.S. recognized its responsibility to crack down on cross-border gun trafficking more than ever before. Leaders of nations in the Caribbean and throughout the Americas who are also victimized by illegally trafficked U.S. guns demanded action. Congress enacted a new law that criminalized cross-border trafficking. A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued a landmark decision upholding Mexico’s case. Mexico brought another lawsuit –against five Arizona gun dealers – to further address the Iron Pipeline.
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And Mexico’s bold action – the boldest I had seen in my 25 years of gun violence prevention work at the time – inspired me to create Global Action on Gun Violence. |
If the gun industry was held accountable to the same fundamental civil justice principles as everyone else, Mexico would have prevailed in its manufacturer lawsuit. After all, as the complaint makes clear, the gun manufacturers’ conduct is clearly negligent, reckless, and illegal. Unfortunately, the gun industry’s unjust special protection law, PLCAA, largely shields negligent gun manufacturers from liability unless they violate statutory law, and Mexico’s lawsuit ultimately could not overcome the current U.S. Supreme Court in its first-ever case applying PLCAA’s protections.
Fortunately the Supreme Court decision was narrow. The Court denied the gun industry the sweeping win it wished for, refusing to accept any of the industry’s arguments that would have provided it with virtually bullet-proof immunity from all liability. Not a single Justice challenged Mexico’s right to hold gun manufacturers or dealers accountable for harms caused by their sales practices. Instead, Justice Kagan’s opinion was limited to imposing a greater factual threshold for a narrow class of cases that allege that gun manufacturers aid and abet downstream illegal sales. Even for those limited cases, the Court kept the door open for future gun industry liability.
Today, thanks in part to Mexico’s groundbreaking legal actions, anti-gun trafficking efforts are smarter and more focused on effective solutions. Mexico’s gun dealer litigation continues. And GAGV will bring more lawsuits and other actions to stop gun trafficking and will draw attention to this global crisis. After Mexico’s bold actions, the world is far closer to a solution than we were.
All of us at GAGV are proud of our role in this landmark case. And we are more inspired than ever for the fight ahead.
Jon Lowy
Founder & President
P.S. Donate now to help Global Action on Gun Violence continue the fight! |
News Update: Recapping This Month’s Supreme Court Ruling
As discussed, earlier this month, in its first decision ever on gun industry liability, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. gun industry shield law prohibited Mexico’s lawsuit against seven gun manufacturers and one distributor, Estados Unidos Mexicanos v. Smith & Wesson, reversing a unanimous federal appeals court decision that allowed Mexico’s claims that U.S. gun manufacturers aid and abet illegal gun trafficking across the border to proceed.
The Court held that, notwithstanding Mexico’s allegations of knowing illegal conduct by the manufacturers, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) shields manufacturers from liability unless there are claims that they participated in illegal sales with an intent that those sales succeed.
However, the Court refused to accept the gun industry’s arguments that they could never be the proximate cause of damage to Mexico. And the Court’s opinion will allow gun manufacturers and dealers to be liable in future cases with additional facts. Global Action on Gun Violence is co-counsel for Mexico, along with Shadowen LLC, in this case as well as in a pending lawsuit brought by Mexico against five Arizona gun dealers, which is in discovery.
“While we strongly disagree with the Court’s decision, the Court did not dispute Mexico’s detailed claims that the U.S. gun industry deliberately supplies the crime gun pipeline to profit from the criminal market,” said Global Action on Gun Violence’s founder and president Jon Lowy. “The Court also did not accept the gun manufacturers’ sweeping arguments that would have immunized them from virtually all liability for their wrongdoing. Mexico’s lawsuit was dismissed only because Congress’s special interest giveaway gave the gun lobby a free pass from the basic principles of civil justice that govern every other person and business in the U.S. Our work to end gun trafficking will continue.”
“It’s really important to note the court refused to go along with the gun industry’s efforts to leverage this case into a very broad ruling that would provide them with even more unprecedented protection than they currently enjoy,” agreed David Pucino, legal director and deputy chief counsel at the Giffords Law Center, in a Bloomberg report.
“The Court made clear that the door to accountability for the gun industry is not shut, and we look forward to working with Mexico further to stop the crime gun pipeline that makes Mexicans and Americans less safe,” added Lowy. |
Breaking News: Canadian Class Action Against Smith and Wesson Can Proceed
In a major victory that could have far-reaching effects, the Court of Appeals of Ontario, Canada, just held that a class action brought by victims of a mass shooting in Toronto can proceed against Smith & Wesson. The lawsuit is the first brought outside the U.S. against a U.S. gun manufacturer.
GAGV’s founder Jon Lowy is foreign legal counsel for the plaintiffs in the case of Price v. Smith and Wesson, brought on behalf of victims of a 2018 Toronto mass shooting. The plaintiffs argue that Smith and Wesson could and should have prevented the shooting by making the gun with personalized safety features, like a smart gun or internal locks. As the lawsuit was brought outside of the US, it is outside of the reach of Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). The appeals court held that the trial court improperly denied class certification, so the case can proceed as a class action.
“We look forward to assisting in this important quest for accountability and justice,” said Lowy in response to the ruling. “While PLCAA has repeatedly shielded gun manufacturers from product liability, without PLCAA’s unjust protections, liability in this case has the potential to save lives by reforming gun industry practices – in the U.S. as well as Canada. It validates our strategy to expand gun litigation outside of the U.S.”
The Canadian appeals court’s ruling stated that the gun in the mass shooting “is a semiautomatic pistol designed for military and police use, so it is built to harm or kill people, not for hunting.” Yet, the weapon had no features that would prevent an unauthorized user from firing it, the ruling said, despite the company agreeing as part of a U.S. civil claims settlement in 2000 to incorporate authorized user technology into its newly designed handguns by 2003, according to a report at Law.com. |
Congressman Dan Goldman and Jon Lowy Discuss Gun Trafficking Policy
Earlier this month, GAGV hosted U.S. Representative Dan Goldman (D-NY) for a discussion of Congressional action on gun violence, including Rep. Goldman’s authorship of the Disarming Cartels Act, which aims to curtail the trafficking of U.S.-made firearms and ammunition south-bound over the U.S.-Mexico border. The wide-ranging conversation included the Congressman’s analysis of the current mood on Capitol Hill toward gun violence prevention legislation and liability. You can watch the video here. |
In Part Two of the Zoom discussion, GAGV Founder Jon Lowy talked with our Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth Burke about this month’s Supreme Court ruling – and how it keeps the door open for future litigation against the gun industry. We think you will enjoy this in-depth discussion. |
We urge you to like, comment, subscribe to our channel – and by all means, please share these videos with your friends and colleagues! |
GAGV In The News
As Global Action on Gun Violence pursues a new model for holding the gun industry legally accountable, below are a few news clips relating to our work:
Bloomberg
Gun Control Backers Claim Modest Supreme Court Gains This Term
Los Angeles Times
No Supreme Court win, but Mexico pressures U.S. on southbound guns
Milenio
Lawsuit against gun shops has educated people in the US, Mexico, and around the world: Jonathan Lowy (note: article in Spanish)
Visit the GAGV Newsroom for regular updates. |
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