The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge to New York’s controversial firearms liability law, leaving intact a state measure that allows gun manufacturers and sellers to be sued for harm caused by the illegal use of their products.
The court’s decision leaves in place lower court rulings that upheld the 2021 law against a challenge brought by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and several major gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Beretta, Glock and Sig Sauer.
The lawsuit argued that New York’s law conflicts with the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, a 2005 law that generally shields firearms manufacturers, distributors and dealers from liability when their products are criminally misused by third parties.
Gun industry groups contended that New York was attempting to circumvent those federal protections by creating a pathway for lawsuits against manufacturers and sellers. Attorneys for the challengers argued the law exploits an exception in the federal statute that permits lawsuits when a company knowingly violates laws governing the sale or marketing of firearms and that violation directly contributes to harm.
New York Attorney General Letitia James defended the law, arguing that the federal statute allows liability in certain circumstances and does not prevent states from holding gun industry members accountable when they violate applicable laws.
A federal judge initially rejected the challenge, and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision last year. By declining to hear the case, the Supreme Court leaves those rulings in place, allowing the law to remain enforceable.
The decision does not necessarily end the legal fight. Legal observers have noted that future lawsuits could present different questions about how the law is applied, potentially leading to additional court challenges.
The Supreme Court’s action comes despite the court’s generally conservative approach to Second Amendment issues. Last year, the justices relied on the same federal liability protections to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Mexican government against U.S. gun manufacturers.
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