Gun makers lose problem to New York law permitting lawsuits against business

Guns confiscated at New York City public faculties are displayed at a information convention with Mayor Eric Adams at police headquarters to speak about guns in public faculties in New York City on Might 25, 2022 in New York Metropolis.

Spencer Platt | Getty Pictures

A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit by a group of gun producers, distributors and retailers difficult the constitutionality of a New York law that allows the state and other people affected by gun violence to sue the industry.

U.S. District Choose Mae D'Agostino in Albany rejected a request by the National Capturing Sports Foundation and gun manufacturers, together with Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co, to enjoin enforcement of the statute.

The ruling came a day after a gunman killed 19 kids and two adults at a Texas elementary faculty, the latest in a spate of mass shootings, prompting renewed calls by Democrats for harder gun regulations.

The Nationwide Capturing Sports Foundation, a trade group for the firearms trade, did not instantly respond to a request for comment.

Democratic former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last July signed into legislation a measure that seeks to overcome legal hurdles which have largely shielded the trade from lawsuits associated to gun violence.

The regulation allows firearm sellers, producers and distributors to be sued by the state, cities or individuals for making a "public nuisance" that endangers the general public's safety and health.

The gun business group argued the regulation wrongly imposes legal responsibility on companies operating anywhere within the country that make, promote or market guns or ammunition which are misused by criminals in New York.