The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A US judge has dismissed a significant portion of Mexico’s $10 billion lawsuit to hold US gun manufacturers accountable for the spread of firearms in the region.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis announced in March 2023 that The Bahamas joined the lawsuit as friends of the court.

Since then, the government has also entered into an agreement with the US-based non-profit Global Action on Gun Violence (GAGV) to analyse the prospects of suing firearms dealers, distributors and manufacturers.

The defendants in Mexico’s lawsuit include major gun manufacturers and one gun wholesaler. The case was initially dismissed in September 2022 in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

However, the Mexican government appealed, arguing that the arms industry should be responsible for how their products are distributed and sold.

According to Reuters, US District Judge Dennis Saylor ruled this month that Mexico did not demonstrate adequate connections between six of the eight defendants and Massachusetts, where the case was filed. The dismissed companies include Sturm, Ruger, Glock, Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Colt’s Manufacturing, and Century International Arms.

The judge said Mexico failed to show that fire- arms sold in Massachusetts caused it any harm.

Smith & Wesson Brands and Witmer Public Safety Group are the remaining defendants.

Mexico’s foreign minister reportedly said that the country will continue pursuing legal action against the dismissed companies

and is considering options for an appeal or other legal avenues.

Mexico claims that US gun manufacturers undermine its strict gun laws by marketing military-style weapons that contribute to violence by drug cartels.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis has previously said that the government’s decision to join the appeal in support of Mexico aims to hold US gun manufacturers liable for the harm caused by their products. Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago had also joined the appeal as friends of the court.