US Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit against gun shops

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked two American arms companies from being sued by the Mexican government, which accused them of aiding drug cartels in illegal firearms trafficking and fueling gun violence in the country.

In a 9-0 ruling, the justices overturned a lower court ruling that had allowed the lawsuit against firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson and distributor Interstate Arms to proceed. The lower court had found Mexico's argument that the companies aided and abetted illegal arms sales, harming its government, plausible.

Smith & Wesson and Interstate Arms had requested dismissal of Mexico's lawsuit, filed in Boston in 2021, under a 2005 U.S. law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which exempts arms companies from liability for crimes committed with their products.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston had ruled in 2024 that the companies' alleged conduct fell outside these protections.

Mexico's lawsuit accused the two companies of violating several U.S. and Mexican laws. Mexico alleges that the companies deliberately maintained a distribution system that included firearms dealers who knowingly sold weapons to third parties, or "straw buyers," who then trafficked them to cartels in Mexico.

The lawsuit also accused the companies of illegally designing and marketing their weapons as military-grade to increase demand among cartels, even associating their products with the U.S. military and law enforcement. The weapons companies said they manufacture and sell legal products.

Mexico rejects ruling

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) lamented the ruling and assured that it will continue to use all legal and diplomatic resources to curb illicit arms trafficking.

"Mexico has presented solid arguments demonstrating the harm that arms manufacturing companies cause to our country, and will continue its fight against arms trafficking," the agency stated in the text shared through the agency's official channels.

The Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center (Centro Prodh), which participated as amicus curiae, also lamented the ruling.

"We recognize the efforts of the SRE's legal teams in promoting innovative strategies against an industry that profits from the lax marketing of many of the weapons that cause death and suffering in Mexico," the organization stated on social media.

For his part, attorney Jon Lowy, president of Global Action on Gun Violence (GAGV) and representing Mexico's defense, stated that the ruling does not refute the country's arguments about the arms industry's deliberate role in the illegal flow of weapons.

"The lawsuit was dismissed only because of a special concession from Congress to the gun lobby," he said.

It was also detailed that the resolution does not affect the course of a second lawsuit filed by Mexico in 2022 before a court in Tucson, Arizona, against five gun dealers. That litigation is ongoing and is currently in the evidence production phase.

Alejandro Celorio, legal advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated that the Mexican government will not abandon its demand that this industry prevent its products from ending up in the hands of organized crime.

“We must continue to insist that the key to addressing illicit trafficking is disarming organized crime. And arms manufacturers and sellers can certainly help. It's time,” Celorio wrote in a series of messages posted on his X account, after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision was announced.

Weapons confiscation

According to the Ministry of Public Security, in four months of coordinated actions on the country's northern border, Mexican authorities have seized 3,353 firearms, 554,854 cartridges, and 16,164 magazines as part of "Operation Northern Border," the Security Cabinet of the Government of Mexico reported.

Various studies, including one from El Colegio de México and another from the Transborder Institute at the University of San Diego, agree that around 200,000 weapons enter the country illegally each year, or about 16,666 per month. Therefore, the reported seizures in the operation represent only 4.95% of the weapons that enter the country illegally, on average.

Keys to the Mexican lawsuit against arms companies

• August 2021: The Mexican government files a civil lawsuit in federal court in Boston against 11 U.S. arms manufacturers and distributors. They are accused of negligent practices that facilitate illegal trafficking.
• September 2022: A federal judge in Massachusetts dismisses the lawsuit, arguing that the companies are protected by the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).
• October 2022: Mexico appeals the decision to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, arguing that the PLCAA should not apply to damages occurring outside the U.S.
• January 2024: The First Circuit Court of Appeals rules in favor of Mexico, determining that the lawsuit can proceed and that the companies are not protected by the PLCAA in this case.
• August 2024: A federal judge in Boston again dismisses the case against six of the eight defendant companies, citing lack of jurisdiction. The lawsuit continues against Smith & Wesson and Interstate Arms, and a hearing is held in District Court in Boston to discuss the next stages of the litigation.
• March 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court holds a hearing to determine whether the defendant companies enjoy immunity under the PLCAA.
• June 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously dismisses Mexico's lawsuit, concluding that the companies are protected by the PLCAA and that Mexico failed to present sufficient evidence.