Gun makers lose challenge to New York law allowing lawsuits against industry
2022.05.25 21:11
By Nate Raymond
(Reuters) -A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit by a group of gun manufacturers, distributors and retailers challenging the constitutionality of a New York law that allows the state and people affected by gun violence to sue the industry.
U.S. District Judge Mae D’Agostino in Albany rejected a request by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co, to enjoin enforcement of the statute.
The ruling came a day after a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at a Texas elementary school, the latest in a spate of mass shootings, prompting renewed calls by Democrats for tougher gun regulations.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade group for the firearms industry, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Democratic former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last July signed into law a measure that seeks to overcome legal hurdles that have largely shielded the industry from lawsuits related to gun violence.
The law allows firearm sellers, manufacturers and distributors to be sued by the state, cities or individuals for creating a “public nuisance” that endangers the public’s safety and health.
The gun industry group argued the law wrongly imposes liability on companies operating anywhere in the country that make, sell or market guns or ammunition that are misused by criminals in New York.
