Mexico Sues U.S. Gun Manufacturers for $10B; Gun Makers Urge Judge to Dismiss the Case

Mexico has filed a $10 billion lawsuit seeking to hold U.S. gun manufacturers accountable for a deadly flood of weapons across the border. Named in the lawsuit were Smith & Wesson and Strum, Ruger & Co., among others.

A U.S. judge is currently questioning whether allowing Mexico to sue U.S. gun manufacturers for facilitating the trafficking of weapons to drug cartels would open the door to other countries suing them, as well, according to an Aljazeera News report.

Jonathan Lowy, a lawyer for Mexico, argued during a virtual hearing that gun makers know how criminals are getting their guns.

Lowy added that the U.S. gun manufacturers could stop and still choose to be "willfully blind to the facts."

U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor argued whether Mexico's lawsuit would mean the protections against gun makers usually enjoy under the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act is "completely hollow."

Steven Shadowen, another lawyer for Mexico, noted that other foreign countries could file a lawsuit if they met the requirements.

Mexico's Lawsuit Against U.S. Gun Manufacturers

U.S. gun manufacturers have argued that Mexico cannot prove that the violence stated in the lawsuit is their fault. They added that U.S. law protects them from liability over the misuse of their products, according to a BBC News report.

More than a dozen states have backed the Mexico government's lawsuit, including California and New York. Lawyers representing Antigua, Barbuda, and Belize have also expressed their support.

Guillaume Michel, head of legal affairs at Mexico's embassy in Washington, said that the lawsuit does not only affect Mexico.

Michel said that it also has consequences for the United States.

Stop by US Arms to Mexico's data showed that 11,613 weapons were seized by the army, which is a small share of what is believed to be on Mexico's streets.

The project is focused on reducing illegal weapons entering the country.

Ed Calderon, a former police officer in Tijuana, said that criminal groups' arsenals are often comparable to those of the Mexican military and leave police forces "hopelessly outgunned."

Calderon added that it was "horrible for morale." He said that there is a feeling of abandonment, "of not having what they need."

Mexico Gun Violence

In Mexico, firearms were used in more than 68,000 homicides in the last three years, especially when the United States and Mexico declared war on drugs in 2006.

Massachusetts Peace Action noted that the illegal gun trade also continues to grow from gun shops and gun shops, which makes it easy to smuggle into Mexico across the border.

More than 61,000 people are known to have forcibly disappeared in Mexico, with the most of the number being immigrants.

In addition, 99.3 percent of crimes in Mexico are not investigated. It is also the Latin American country with the highest impunity rate.

Between 2006 and 2017, the Mexican army noted that more than 20,000 firearms sold to state and federal agencies in Mexico were reported as lost or stolen.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Mexico sues US gunmakers for role in trafficking and homicides - from Al Jazeera English