BREAKING: Mexico Sues Major U.S. Gun Manufacturers

Mexico might be a popular tourist destination, but it’s also overrun by criminals. The foreign country is well-known for its corruption, incredible murder rate, and notorious drug cartels. In fact, they’re so known for it, myriad movies and TV series about those very things have been made for years. Now, in a move that is both unsurprising given the current climate but also ludicrous considering the reality of their country, Mexico has filed a lawsuit against multiple U.S. gun manufacturers.

 

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, August 4, in Massachusetts. Interestingly, the legal team representing the Mexican government is comprised of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Hilliard Shadowen, a firm with offices in Austin and Corpus Christi, Texas, and Boston, Massachusetts. Although the Brady involvement comes as no surprise whatsoever it’s disappointing to see a firm headquartered in Texas involved in this, even if they are known as a rather liberal set of lawyers. I feel the need to apologize on behalf of the state of Texas.

The lawsuit names some big gun manufacturers including Ruger, Glock, Barrett, Smith and Wesson, and Beretta. It doesn’t specify just what they want for their perceived damages — and heaven knows this is all about their perceived injury, not reality — but their Foreign Ministry officials are making noises about at least 10 billion dollars.

Well, yes…but no. The suit is already filed — thanks, Brady campaign and turncoat Texas lawyers — but whether or not it ends up being a win for Mexico is really anyone’s guess. The United States does have laws in place prohibiting people from suing manufacturers of things like guns and cars for the bad things done with those products by random bad guys. Of course, that’s a law being bucked by some judges lately.

 

 

 

Families of those murdered in Sandy Hook by an armed killer are being allowed to pursue a lawsuit against Remington, thanks to a federal judge. That particular case has gotten bad enough that Remington apparently gave in — shame on Big Green — and offered the families a 33 million dollar settlement. The families said no. They have their eyes on more money, although who knows where they think Remington will get it — and the case is moving forward.

 

In New York, a law was just signed in July 2021 that lets residents sue gun manufacturers. That law is just one in a string of reasons I’ve repeatedly said Remington should pull out of Ilion. Sure, they’re attached to the location because the company was founded there more than 200 years ago by Eliphalet Remington, but it seems past time to let go of that and move to a more gun-friendly place. If nothing else they could keep their museum in Ilion and take production elsewhere.

Back to the law that is supposed to protect firearms manufacturers from being sued by money-hungry people blaming the makers of inanimate objects for the actions of crazy murderers (try to remember that more people are killed with hammers and fists than with firearms and that any object can be a deadly weapon). That is the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005 (PLCAA). The act does not protect manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits revolving around product defects, breach of contract, or other actions, it only states they can’t be held liable for crimes committed using their products.

 

Some legal authorities say PLCAA doesn’t technically say foreign countries can’t sue gun manufacturers. Let’s be honest here, guys: even if the PLCAA specifically outlined that Mexico itself cannot sue U.S. gun manufacturers, it would still happen. We are living in an anti-gun climate like never before and it is fueled and encouraged by our politicians and those in positions of power. Are we screwed? Hard to say (no pun intended).

 

So, can Mexico do this? They already did. Can they win? Not necessarily. It will be quite a battle to win but here’s the thing: Mexico doesn’t really have to win this lawsuit, they just have to drain and bankrupt our major gun manufacturers with legal fees.

Ah, Mexico. A haven of sunshine, safe travel, and fruity mixed drinks. The perfect place for a getaway — or not. That whole patina of murder, rape, and drugs kind of takes the shine off getting your tan south of the border.

Mexico is a hotbed of crime, helped along by its political officials and enormously corrupt law enforcement. Good cops are run out of town, murdered, or bullied into submission by death threats to their loved ones. It’s the dirty ones that survive.

 

In 2019, Mexico averaged 29 murders per 100,000 people. Guess what the U.S. averaged? 5 per 100,000. We, the United States of America, with our (cue sarcasm) ridiculous numbers of lawful gun owners and rampant mass shootings — are by far the safer country. If we dropped the big crime areas, like Chicago, off the map we’d have an even lower murder rate. An armed society is a polite society, am I right?

 

The cartels in Mexico are notorious for the things they get away with like beheading their victims and murdering the clean members of law enforcement. I’m reasonably sure the beheadings and dismembered bodies required knives, not guns, but I suppose I could be mistaken.

 

As for travel in Mexico, the U.S. now has them listed at a level three, meaning it’d be really smart not to go there. This isn’t just due to COVID, it’s also due to the kidnappings, rapes, and murders. On the travel advisory page there’s a long list of places to avoid and things to do or not do, like:

Let me tell you, as a white girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, I can firmly state I won’t go to Mexico. Went once years ago and that was enough. This has nothing to do with racism and everything to do with not wanting to be harassed, raped, or murdered.

This brings to mind that old meme…well yes, but no…once again. Technically Mexican citizens are allowed to own firearms under their constitution, although it was amended to separate “keep” and “bear” into two different things. If you want to get a gun through legal channels in Mexico, it takes some doing. We’re talking about a country with some incredibly restrictive gun control.

 

 

Guns are only sold through lawful methods in one location in the entire country in Mexico City. That location just happens to be on a military base that’s surrounded by the usual barriers like walls, barbed wire, armed soldiers, and probably a moat with rabid alligators. Oh, and the “store” is run by a Colonel who goes around saying guns are a privilege, not a right, and that it’s his job to make sure only certain people get their filthy hands on firearms.

 

 

In order to gain entry into this bastion of the firearms industry, you have to fill out around half a dozen forms and provide proof of things like a job alongside various permits and “if it pleases the crown” type papers. Then there are the months of background checks and red tape. If you actually get through all that, you can attempt to enter the base, spend hours in lines with more paperwork, and then take the gun they give you. There is no holding gun and trying it out — no real choice in the process.

In Mexico, you’re really lucky because you can own one handgun, and it’s going to be chambered in a caliber no larger than 380 ACP.

 

That’s right, you, too, can go up against drug cartels armed with illegal machine guns with your little pea shooter. If it’s a revolver, you can get a 38 Special (but not if it’s rated for 357 Magnum, that’s a no-no). Handguns in 38 Super and 9mm are strictly verboten, as are all that are bigger than 380 ACP — which makes me want to buy even more of them even though I’m not really a huge fan (hey, I like 10mm, what can I say).

 

Mexican citizens can have up to 9 long guns, supposedly, but only in teensy, tiny calibers. Guns chambered in things like 223 Remington aren’t allowed. Now, you can get a 12 gauge, but only with a barrel under 25 inches.

They don’t get to leave. In order to lawfully leave the house with a gun the owner has to obtain a special permit and those are even harder to get than the guns. The guns can’t even make a drive to a range or a hunt without a permit. So hey, I think the Ocellated turkeys in Mexico are freaking gorgeous, but you won’t see me hopping a flight to shoot one anytime soon. It isn’t impossible to book a hunt with an outfitter but…thanks, no thanks.

All guns in Mexico are registered with the government, right down to the tiniest detail.

And, the Lawsuit Itself

2. 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, into criminal hands in Mexico. This flood is not a natural phenomenon or an inevitable consequence of the gun business or of U.S. gun laws. It is the foreseeable result of the Defendants’ deliberate actions and business practices.

4. 4. The Government has strong domestic laws that make it virtually impossible for criminals to lawfully obtain guns in Mexico. Mexico has one gun store in the entire nation and issues fewer than 50 gun permits per year.
5. Defendants undermine these stringent laws, and wreak havoc in Mexican society, by persistently supplying a torrent of guns to the drug cartels.
6. Defendants exacerbate their refusal to monitor and discipline their distribution systems by designing military-style assault weapons and marketing them in ways that attract and arm ruthless transnational criminal organizations like the drug cartels.

14. The consequences in Mexico have been dire. In addition to causing the exponential growth in the homicide rate, Defendants’ conduct has had an overall destabilizing effect on Mexican society.

What’s Going to Happen?