Gun makers lose problem to New York law allowing lawsuits against industry

Weapons confiscated at New York City public schools are displayed at a information conference with Mayor Eric Adams at police headquarters to discuss weapons in public faculties in New York Metropolis on Might 25, 2022 in New York Metropolis.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

A federal decide on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit by a gaggle of gun manufacturers, distributors and retailers challenging the constitutionality of a New York regulation that allows the state and other people affected by gun violence to sue the business.

U.S. District Decide Mae D'Agostino in Albany rejected a request by the National Shooting Sports 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 school, the most recent in a spate of mass shootings, prompting renewed calls by Democrats for more durable gun regulations.

The Nationwide Capturing Sports activities Foundation, a trade group for the firearms trade, didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.

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

The legislation 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 well being.

The gun business group argued the law wrongly imposes liability on corporations working wherever in the country that make, sell or market guns or ammunition which might be misused by criminals in New York.