Supreme Court blocks Mexico's lawsuit against major U.S. gunmakers in win for firearms industry
CBSN
Washington — The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Mexican government's lawsuit against major U.S. gun manufacturers, delivering a win for the firearms industry in a test of a federal law that shields them from civil suits.
The high court unanimously rejected Mexico's arguments that its effort to hold firearms makers accountable for the violence wreaked by drug cartels armed with their products should proceed because it satisfied an exception to the liability shield provided through the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA.
In the case known as Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, Mexico had argued that gun manufacturers are knowingly aiding and abetting the unlawful sale of their firearms to straw purchasers, who are trafficking them across the southern border to give to drug cartels.
