Wyden Joins 46 Lawmakers in Urging Supreme Court to Stop Flow of American Firearms to Mexican Drug Cartels
Smith & Wesson will be a critical case for victims and survivors of gun violence hoping to hold the gun industry accountable for its actions
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today he has joined 46 lawmakers in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court concerning a legal case that would hold gun manufacturers accountable for their role in the illegal trafficking of firearms to Mexico.
“As the American firearm industry continues to rake in more profit from selling firearms to Mexican drug cartels, people continue to suffer at the hands of gun violence every day in Oregon and in our country,” Wyden said. “Gun manufacturers must be held accountable for their reckless business practices that have torn apart our families, neighborhoods, and schools. I thank my colleagues for their effort to ensure that the American firearm industry stops putting a weapon of mass destruction in dangerous hands again, and supporting the voices of gun violence survivors.”
In the ongoing Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. et al., v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, Mexico is suing U.S. gun manufacturers and a distributor for allegedly aiding and abetting illegal arms trafficking. The lawmakers argue that the gun industry should not be insulated from liability for its own unlawful conduct, as their constituents have been harmed by gun violence or the threat of it.
In addition to Wyden, the amicus brief was led by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Representatives Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and was joined by U.S. Senators Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawai’i., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and U.S. Representatives Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Conn., Gabe Amo, D-R.I., Becca Balint, D-Vt., Julia Brownley, D-Calif., André Carson, D-Ind., Sean Casten D-Ill., Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas., Danny K. Davis, D-Ill., Bill Foster, D-Ill., Valerie P. Foushee, D-N.C., Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., Glenn Ivey, D-Md., Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr., D-Ga., Ted Lieu, D-Calif., Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., Betty McCollum, D-Minn., James P. McGovern, D-Md., Seth Moulton, D-Mass., Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Mark Pocan, D-Wis., Mike Quigly, D-Ill., Delia C. Ramirez, D-Ill., Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., Mike Thompson, D-Calif., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Jill Tokuda, D-Hawai’i, Paul D. Tonko, D-N.Y., and Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in this case on March 4, 2025.
The text of the bill is here.
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