Gun makers lose challenge to New York legislation allowing 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 discuss guns in public schools in New York Metropolis on May 25, 2022 in New York City.

Spencer Platt | Getty Photographs

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

U.S. District Decide Mae D'Agostino in Albany rejected a request by the Nationwide Shooting Sports Basis and gun producers, together with 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 faculty, the latest in a spate of mass shootings, prompting renewed calls by Democrats for harder gun laws.

The National Taking pictures Sports activities Foundation, a commerce group for the firearms industry, didn't immediately respond to a request for remark.

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

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

The gun industry group argued the regulation wrongly imposes legal responsibility on corporations working anyplace within the country that make, promote or market weapons or ammunition that are misused by criminals in New York.