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

Guns confiscated at New York City public faculties are displayed at a information convention with Mayor Eric Adams at police headquarters to discuss weapons in public colleges in New York Metropolis on Could 25, 2022 in New York Metropolis.

Spencer Platt | Getty Photos

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

U.S. District Judge Mae D'Agostino in Albany rejected a request by the Nationwide Capturing 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 most recent in a spate of mass shootings, prompting renewed calls by Democrats for more durable gun regulations.

The Nationwide Capturing Sports Basis, a commerce group for the firearms business, didn't immediately respond to a request for remark.

Democratic former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo final July signed into regulation a measure that seeks to beat legal hurdles that have largely shielded the business from lawsuits related to gun violence.

The law allows firearm sellers, producers and distributors to be sued by the state, cities or people for making a "public nuisance" that endangers the general public's security and health.

The gun industry group argued the law wrongly imposes liability on corporations operating wherever in the nation that make, promote or market guns or ammunition which can be misused by criminals in New York.