Gun makers lose challenge to New York legislation permitting lawsuits against trade

Guns confiscated at New York City public schools are displayed at a news convention with Mayor Eric Adams at police headquarters to speak about weapons in public schools in New York Metropolis on May 25, 2022 in New York City.

Spencer Platt | Getty Pictures

A federal choose on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit by a group of gun manufacturers, distributors and retailers difficult the constitutionality of a New York law that permits the state and other people affected by gun violence to sue the business.

U.S. District Choose Mae D'Agostino in Albany rejected a request by the Nationwide Taking pictures Sports activities Foundation and gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co, to enjoin enforcement of the statute.

The ruling came a day after a gunman killed 19 kids and two adults at a Texas elementary college, the latest in a spate of mass shootings, prompting renewed calls by Democrats for tougher gun rules.

The Nationwide Shooting Sports Basis, a commerce group for the firearms trade, did not immediately reply to a request for remark.

Democratic former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last July signed into law a measure that seeks to beat legal hurdles that have largely shielded the trade from lawsuits associated to gun violence.

The law permits firearm sellers, manufacturers and distributors to be sued by the state, cities or individuals for making a "public nuisance" that endangers the public's security and well being.

The gun trade group argued the legislation wrongly imposes legal responsibility on companies working anywhere in the country that make, promote or market guns or ammunition which are misused by criminals in New York.