U.S. gun makers say Mexico’s lawsuit represents ‘clash of national values’ -Breaking
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© Reuters. FILEPHOTO: Marcelo Ebrard (Mexican Foreign Minister) holds documents at a news conference. He announced that Mexico had sued several U.S. firearm manufacturers, accusing them for negligence in business dealings that led to illicit arms trading.Nate Raymond
BOSTON (Reuters) – Gun makers including Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co on Monday asked a U.S. judge to dismiss a lawsuit by the Mexican government accusing them of facilitating the trafficking of weapons to drug cartels, leading to thousands of deaths.
In a brief, the gun makers told a Boston federal judge that Mexico wanted to sue them through its $10 billion suit for punishing them for selling firearms “that were not only legal but also constitutionally protected” in America.
These companies include Beretta USA and Barrett Firearms Manufacturing. Colt’s Manufacturing Co, Glock Inc, and Glock Inc. They claimed Mexico tried to bypass U.S. court systems in order to avoid a diplomatic dispute between the United States, but they lacked the legal ability to sue the United States.
Mexico’s successive governments have asked the United States to stop the illegal import of U.S. weapons into Mexico.
According to the firms, “At its core, this case involves a clash in national values.” While the United States acknowledges the right to keep, bear arms, Mexico has almost eliminated private gun ownership.
Marcelo Ebrard the Mexican Foreign Minister, said Monday at a United Nations Security Council meeting about small arms that the decision by the country to file an unusual lawsuit in August was “a question both of principle” and “a moral obligation.”
According to the lawsuit, companies were accused of violating Mexico’s gun laws by marketing, designing and selling assault weapons with military style. They also knew that they would fuel murders and extortions, and arm drug cartels.
Mexico claims that over 500 000 guns were trafficked each year from the United States to Mexico. More than 68% of these are manufactured by the companies it sued.
Mexico had not established that its harms were caused by them, and the companies claimed that an American law called The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act protected gun manufacturers from any lawsuits arising out of their product misuse.
Mexico claimed that the laws do not apply to their claims. However, the plain text of statute disallows this theory.
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