(PatriotPostNews.com) — America’s highest court recently decided to formally consider hearing an appeal over a $10 billion lawsuit lodged from Mexico against gun manufacturers in the United States.
The decision from the Supreme Court came on July 17, when the judicial body announced it would hear the Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos petition on September 30, at the end of the summer recess and to begin the next private conference. A minimum of four out of the nine Supreme Court justices will need to vote in favor of the petition before oral arguments can be heard.
The announcement came less than two weeks after Mexico requested the nation’s highest court hear the case. Previously, a federal appeals court overturned a 2022 rejection of the case—which was then determined to be an unlawful filing—in January 2024, allowing the case to continue.
This decision from the First Circuit appellate court permitted the lawsuit to be heard in lower courts. However, the Supreme Court will now determine if the appeals court had grounds to reverse the earlier decision from another federal court, which dismissed the lawsuit. January’s ruling dismissed the case based on the precedent that American companies are not civilly liable per the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).
In its lawsuit, Mexico argues that gun manufacturers based in the United States are pushing firearms into its southern neighbor, contributing to the issue of violent crime. According to court documents, between 70 and 90% of guns uncovered at crime scenes in Mexico were manufactured in America.
Gun control activists in the United States are on board with the lawsuit, while others in favor of gun rights argue that the foreign lawsuit is an attempt to undermine Second Amendment rights for American citizens. The several gun manufacturing companies that were sued by the Mexican government have denied their liability and argue that federal law prohibits such a lawsuit from ensuing.
Copyright 2024, PatriotPostNews.com
