Supreme Court leaves New York gun-industry liability law in place
The Supreme Court declined to hear an industry challenge to a New York law that allows the state and victims of gun violence to sue manufacturers, wholesalers, and dealers for “harms resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse” of their products. The denial leaves in place a lower-court ruling that upheld the statute, which New York frames as a public-nuisance law.
The appeal was brought by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, joined by manufacturers including Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Beretta, Glock, and Sig Sauer. They argued the law conflicts with the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which broadly shields gunmakers from liability for crimes committed with their products. The New York law requires companies to adopt screening and security practices intended to keep firearms from traffickers, straw purchasers, and people barred from owning them.
By turning the case away, the justices set no precedent but let New York’s approach stand, which other states have used as a template. The federal shield law remains intact; the unresolved question is how far state nuisance statutes can reach around it, an issue likely to return to the Court as similar suits proceed.