Mexico sues U.S. gun manufacturers for fueling illegal weapons flow

[Stevicus]

Mexico sues U.S. gun manufacturers for fueling illegal weapons flow - UPI.com

Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The Mexican government on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against 10 major U.S. gun companies alleging lax controls contribute to the illegal flow of weapons across the southern border.

The suit filed in federal court in Massachusetts accuses the companies of actively facilitating the flow of firearms to drug cartels in the past decade as more than 2.5 million American guns have illegally crossed into Mexico with 70% of guns traced in the country tracked back to the United States.

"For decades, the government and its citizens have been victimized by a deadly flood of military-style and other particularly lethal guns that flows from the U.S. across the border," the lawsuit states.

The suit specifically cites Smith & Wesson; Barett Firearms Manufacturing; Beretta U.S.A.; Beretta Holding; Century International Arms; Colt's Manufacturing Company; Glock, Inc.; Glock Ges.m.b.H; Sturm, Ruger & Co.; and gun supplier Witmer Public Saftey Group.

It states that these manufacturers "are conscious of the fact that their products are trafficked and used in illicit activities" in Mexico.

"Nonetheless, they continue to prioritize their economic benefit and use marketing strategies to promote weapons that are ever more lethal without mechanisms of security or traceability," the lawsuit said.

The Mexican government alleged that U.S. gunmakers design weapons that explicitly appeal to Mexican crime groups such as the Colt .38 Super pistol which is engraved with an image of revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata and a quote attributed to him: "It is better to die standing than to live on your knees."

They might have a point here. It does make it appear as if they're appealing to these groups.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation said the allegations are baseless.

That weapon was used by a gunman in the assassination of investigative journalist Miroslava Breach in 2017.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for the American firearms industry, rejected the lawsuit's claims in a statement Wednesday.

"These allegations are baseless," said Lawrence G. Keane, the group's senior vice president and general counsel. "The Mexican government is responsible for the rampant crime and corruption within their own borders."

The suit is unlikely to gain traction due to a 2005 U.S. law that shields gun manufacturers from most civil liability claims but Mexican government officials said they hope it will draw attention to the issues.

"If we don't file a suit like this and win it, they're never going to understand, they're going to continue doing the same thing and we will continue having deaths every day in our country," Mexico's foreign minister, Marcelo Edbrard, said.

This could turn the international arms industry upside down if countries could file suit against arms exporters in other countries.

 

[Heyo]

This could turn the international arms industry upside down if countries could file suit against arms exporters in other countries.

German gun manufacturers have recently been sentenced to high fines because German guns ended up in Mexico. Though it was the German Public Attorneys Office who filed suit, not Mexico.

 

[Viker]

German gun manufacturers have recently been sentenced to high fines because German guns ended up in Mexico. Though it was the German Public Attorneys Office who filed suit, not Mexico.

We'll never see anything like that in the US. The NRA has a tight grip on the Hill.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Mexico sues U.S. gun manufacturers for fueling illegal weapons flow - UPI.com









They might have a point here. It does make it appear as if they're appealing to these groups.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation said the allegations are baseless.





This could turn the international arms industry upside down if countries could file suit against arms exporters in other countries.

So if they win, which cartel gets the award?

 

[Ponder This]

Mexico sues U.S. gun manufacturers for fueling illegal weapons flow - UPI.com









They might have a point here. It does make it appear as if they're appealing to these groups.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation said the allegations are baseless.





This could turn the international arms industry upside down if countries could file suit against arms exporters in other countries.

I think it's good or countries to work to together to solve their problems, but law suits are not always the best way to go about that. Then again what options does Mexico have with an U.S. administration that has no apparent interest in regulating the border?

IMO, guns flowing across the border from the U.S. to Mexico is just yet another reason for robust border control. The lawlessness allowed through lack of border control leads continually to the rise of cartels that impose their own rules in the absence of authority. That's why the issue at the Mexico-U.S. border only becomes more and more pressing with each passing day. Quite simply, neither the U.S. nor Mexico has much control over their border nowadays and it's very sad that things are so out of control that Mexico is filing a law suit in the U.S. against gun companies.

Whether or not the accusations are true, the fundamental issue is the complete lack of respect for national borders which opens the entire region up to criminal tyranny, unregulated lethal drugs (such as fentanyl), rape, and murder. It's disgusting and it doesn't matter that the people allowing it think they are doing the right thing when the results so clearly and continually demonstrate that they aren't in terms of numbers of people dying, numbers of women sexually assaulted, numbers of children exploited, etc.

Wherever you happen to live, ask yourself: Where are the criminal hot spots?
The answer is often at a border between two distinct police jurisdictions, where neither police department is able or willing to exert the necessary authority or cooperate with the other to make the area secure from criminal enterprise. It's no different at the Mexico-U.S. border, just more obvious and flagrant.

Of course, Mexico's strict gun laws are likely making the situation far worse in Mexico than it would be if they simply allowed their citizens to bear arms in addition to own them. The consequences of enacting policies that enable criminals can be severe. Mexico is famous for its armed drug cartels. The situation in countries with even more strict gun laws than Mexico is even worse. Brazil, where self-defense is not considered a valid argument for having a firearm, has a terrible number of homicides. Which brings us back to the point: that gun manufacturers are not the primary cause of these problems. The problem starts with policies that disable the law-abiding citizen, and are then aggravated by policies that allow the law to be ignored.