The nation’s high court this week chose to turn away a challenge brought by a gun industry trade group against a dangerous new law in New York that targets the industry.
The Supreme Court, in its orders list on Monday, declined to hear the case of National Shooting Sports Foundation v. Letitia James, Attorney General of New York (25-1026). The challenge was to New York’s 2021 “Public Nuisance” law (S.7196/A.6762), which, in the words of then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, at the time of adoption, would “reinstate the public nuisance liability for gun manufacturers.”
In the challenge, the NSSF pointed out that the 2005 federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act protects firearms industry members against frivolous lawsuits, a common tactic used by Brady, Everytown, and other anti-gun groups to bankrupt the industry through lawfare. The New York law unconstitutionally ignores PLCAA, argued NSSF.
“This law is based on the same legal understanding that would allow victims of drunk drivers to sue Ford and Budweiser for the criminal actions of an individual,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel in 2021 on the subject. “This law is not legal accountability. It is political posturing.”
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By Chris Eger
