Opinion: The Mexican Lawsuit Against U.S. Gun Companies Should Not Be Ignored

The Mexican government is suing American gun companies because they say drug cartels are using their guns to carry out illegal acts and wreak havoc throughout the country. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that this is “the first time that a foreign country has sued gun manufacturers in the United States.”

In a press release, the Mexican government said the gun manufacturers are aware that the guns they sell are used to carry out illegal acts in Mexico, “including in attacks against authorities.”

“While aware of the use given to their guns in Mexico, the companies promote their sale to the general public, highlighting their military characteristics, allowing a single buyer to purchase multiple weapons and facilitating sales between individuals, while no background checks are done of the buyer or the origin of the gun itself,” the release said. 

Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said that Mexico was filing a civil lawsuit for damages “so that the companies compensate the Government of Mexico for the harm caused by their negligent practices.” He implied the amount would be decided during the trial, but officials have reportedly estimated that the damages sought could be up to $10 billion.

“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 reportedly reads. The flow of weapons is “the foreseeable result of the defendants’ deliberate actions and business practices.”

President Joe Biden has previously voiced his support for people being able to sue gun companies, saying in April “This is the only outfit that is exempt from being sued. If I get one thing on my list — (if) the Lord came down and said, ‘Joe, you get one of these’ — give me that one.”

“Most people don’t realize, the only industry in America, billion-dollar industry, that can’t be sued, exempt from being sued, are gun manufacturers,” Biden added. 

The Mexican government’s lawsuit should not be ignored, because of the potential longterm implications that could come along with it.

While the suit blames gun manufacturers for allegedly being complicit in the illegal actions of the cartel, it also points to its own strict gun laws as a reason to blame the United States.

Gun manufacturers should be held accountable when they illegally assist criminals, but the Mexican government should perhaps reconsider its own strict gun laws as criminals wreak havoc and inflict violence on innocent citizens.

Though some say there is little chance the lawsuit will be successful, the reality is that such instances in the future could pass if current gun laws are amended — something that’s increasingly likely with President Biden in the White House. Without those laws that protect gun makers from being sued by citizens, a covert attack on the Second Amendment could be well underway. Many are pushing for such legislation to be repealed, saying they want to see gun makers eligible for lawsuits. 

In 2005, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) became law. It protects manufacturers and sellers of firearms from having civil liability action brought against them when a firearm is used in a criminal or unlawful way.

Regardless of its chances at success, implications for such a lawsuit should not go unnoticed. Even though the United States has laws which currently protect gun manufacturers, a lawsuit like this one could essentially set a precedent where anti-Second Amendment activists begin trying to overturn such established laws and any prior rulings.

It might be their right to challenge such laws, but lawsuits like the one the Mexican government is imposing on gun companies in the United States would ultimately undermine the rights provided by the Second Amendment. 

The implications and potential fallout would do more than infringe on Americans’ Second Amendment rights. 

If gun makers can be sued for the wrongful use of the weapons they create, where does this kind of precedent end?

“Woke” members of the Left have increasingly shifted the definition of harm. This has been seen through their embrace of phrases like “silence is violence” and “speech is violence.” The Left has attempted to create a society wherein anything that offends them is considered harmful and hurtful on the same level as something that would physically harm them. If they contend it causes damage to them, the result can be them seeking compensation for those supposed damages. 

Such actions could move the courts to rule in these matters and possibly allow for a dangerous precedent to be set. 

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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