Gun manufacturers lose appeal of liability law ruling

A federal appeals court Thursday upheld a New York law imposing liability on gun makers who knowingly or recklessly endanger public safety through the sale of firearms.

In National Shooting Sports Foundation Inc. et al v. Letitia James, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld a lower court ruling against the gun manufacturers, who had challenged the constitutionality of a 2021 state statute.

The law requires gun makers to establish reasonable controls to prevent unlawful use of firearms and allows for them to be sued for creating a “public nuisance” that endangers the public’s safety and health.

Among other things, the companies argued that the law was pre-empted by the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

The text and history of the earlier law “do not clearly establish that the statute’s aim was to prevent state legislatures from creating avenues to hold gun manufacturers liable for downstream harms caused by their products,” the appeals court ruled.