Arizona court rules Mexico can proceed with lawsuit against five US gun dealers [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Tue 26 Mar 2024 16.39 EDT
Last modified on Tue 26 Mar 2024 17.58 EDT


A trial court in Arizona has ruled that the Mexican government may proceed in its trailblazing lawsuit against five US gun dealers, who stand accused of facilitating gun trafficking across the border into Mexico.

Mexico argues that the companies’ marketing campaigns and distribution practices mean that they are legally responsible for the bloodshed that their guns contribute to.

This is the second such case that the Mexican government has brought in US courts this year, having also accused US gun manufacturers of facilitating the cross-border arms traffic in a case in Massachusetts. “[The Mexican lawsuits] emphasise the responsibility of companies regarding how they produce and sell their weapons,” said Carlos Pérez-Ricart, a political scientist in Mexico.

Gun sales are highly restricted in Mexico itself, where there is just one gun store, run by the state. Yet the Mexican government estimates that 200,000 firearms are smuggled over the border from the US every year.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/26/mexico-lawsuit-us-gun-dealers