On Wednesday, a US judge threw out a $10 billion case that the Mexican government had filed against six US-based gun manufacturers. The lawsuit was meant to hold the companies responsible for deaths caused by guns that were brought into Mexico illegally.
Judge Dennis Saylor threw out the case because he didn’t have the power to do so. He said that the gun manufacturers didn’t have any strong ties to Massachusetts, which is where the case was made.
“As to those defendants, the connection of this matter to Massachusetts is gossamer-thin at best,” Saylor’s verdict said.
Mexico has strict rules on selling weapons, which makes it almost impossible to properly get them.
There is still a lot of gun violence linked to drugs, though. According to the Mexican government, more than 500,000 guns are brought into Mexico from the US every year.
In the past few years, it has sued gun makers and dealers in the US states of Massachusetts and Arizona, trying to hold them accountable.
Gun companies like Beretta USA, Colt, Glock, Barrett, Century International, and Sturm, Ruger, and Company were found not guilty on Wednesday in Massachusetts.
Judge Saylor said that the six suspects whose charges were dropped did not have a strong enough connection to Massachusetts to be tried there. He also said that the Mexican government’s evidence in the case was based on assumptions and did not show a direct link.
“In short, the plaintiff has been unable to muster sufficient proof to establish a sufficient relationship between the claimed injuries and the business transactions of any of the six defendants in Massachusetts,” it said.
Arizona, which is close to Mexico, is being sued by five gun dealers who sold guns that were used in major crimes in Mexico. The lawsuit wants to punish these dealers.