WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 10, 2025) — Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) hailed the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Smith & Wesson, Inc., et al. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, which applied the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) against the Mexican government’s frivolous lawsuit against gun manufacturers including Smith & Wesson, Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Beretta U.S.A., Glock, Sturm, Ruger & Company, Interstate Arms, Century International Arms, and Colt’s Manufacturing Company. You can read FPC’s brief in support of review here, merits-stage brief here, and the Supreme Court’s opinion here.
In May 2024, FPC filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to take the case. After the Court granted review, FPC filed an important merits-stage brief in December that explained why the Court should apply the PLCAA and dismiss the case against the manufacturers. In its brief, FPC argued that Congress enacted the PLCAA to bar frivolous litigation engineered to eliminate the firearms industry and set gun-control policy through the courts, and that, unless the Supreme Court stepped in, a cascade of litigation designed to circumvent the law could bankrupt the firearms industry and all but eliminate the right to keep and bear arms in an end-around move by anti-rights advocates and courts.
In its decision, the Supreme Court agreed, holding that, “Congress enacted the statute to halt a flurry of lawsuits attempting to make gun manufacturers pay for the downstream harms resulting from misuse of their products.” Indeed, the Court said, “Mexico’s suit closely resembles the ones Congress had in mind” when enacting the PLCAA.
“We applaud the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling against the Mexican government’s insidious effort to force gun control on the American people through activist courts,” said FPC President Brandon Combs.
FPC was represented by attorneys David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson, and John D. Ohlendorf of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC.
Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit membership organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. We work to achieve our strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs. Our FPC Law program is the nation’s preeminent legal action initiative focused on restoring the right to keep and bear arms throughout the United States. Individuals who want to support FPC’s work to eliminate unconstitutional laws can join the FPC Grassroots Army at JoinFPC.org or make a donation at firearmspolicy.org/donate. For more on FPC’s lawsuits and other pro-Second Amendment initiatives, visit FPCLegal.org and follow FPC on Instagram, X (Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube.
Read the full article here
