Attorney General Knudsen files briefs in support of American gun manufacturers blamed by New York for crime

HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led two coalitions of state attorneys general in support of American gun manufacturers New York is blaming for the state’s gun crimes. In each case, the federal protections granted to gun manufacturers that keep the companies from being held liable for crimes committed with their products are being circumvented.

“We don’t have a Second Amendment in this country if we don’t have firearms manufacturers,” Attorney General Knudsen said. “The radical left is trying to kill the firearms manufacturing industry in this country one lawsuit at a time. Firearms manufacturers are protected by federal law from having to answer for crimes they didn’t commit. If New York wants to fix their crime problem, they should look in the mirror instead of pointing the finger at law-abiding companies.”

In one amicus brief signed by 23 other attorneys general, Attorney General Knudsen asks the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to reverse the district court’s decision in National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. v. Letitia James that wrongly upheld a New York law that empowered states and individuals to bring public nuisance lawsuits against the gun industry for contributing to a “condition in New York state that endangers the safety or health of the public through the sale, manufacturing, importing, or marketing of a qualified product.”

Attorney General Knudsen is asking SCOTUS to reverse the lower court’s decision because the law violates the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005 (PLCAA), established by Congress to protect firearm companies from being held liable for criminal misuse of their products. Additionally, if allowed to stand, New York’s law would expose firearm manufacturers in other states to liability for the legal sale of a firearm that was later misused in New York and set a precedent across the country that firearm manufacturers could be held liable for crimes committed by others.

“The only way to avoid liability, then, is for these manufacturers and sellers to halt all operations altogether. And that’s of course the point. The New York law expressly and impliedly disadvantages out-of-state gun industry members,” the brief states.

Attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming also joined the briefs.

In another amicus brief signed by 22 other attorneys general, Attorney General Knudsen asks the United States District Court for the Western District of New York to dismiss both The City of Buffalo v. Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. and The City of Rochester v. Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. as the cases also violate the PLCAA. The cities filed the lawsuits citing the same law NSSF is challenging in the lawsuit mentioned above against James.

Attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming joined the brief.

Last year, Attorney General Knudsen also led coalitions leading to a SCOTUS decision in favor of defending American firearms manufactures from nations such as Mexico that attempted to blame and limit the rights of Americans.