The State of New York is trying to circumvent the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) with a "public nuisance" law — but in truth, it’s only a nuisance to the firearms industry.
The PLCAA is a common-sense federal law that protects firearm manufacturers, distributors, and dealers from liability if their products are used in the commission of a crime.
Under New York's nuisance stature, the state can sue a firearm manufacturer, dealer, and distributor as a "public nuisance" if the gun was used to commit a crime.
After the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that New York's nuisance statute complied with the PLCAA, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearm industry’s trade association, petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
"We earnestly believe that New York’s punitive public nuisance law is exactly what Congress had in mind when it passed the PLCAA with a bipartisan majority.
"The PLCAA is designed to prohibit frivolous lawsuits against members of the firearm industry based on the criminal actions of remote third parties, and we continue to believe the New York statute is intended to evade the will of Congress," said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel.
"The PLCAA is codification of bedrock tort law. It codifies common law and common-sense principles to prevent baseless litigation from bankrupting an entire industry, especially one that provides the necessary means for the lawful exercise of the Second Amendment."
On Monday the National Rifle Association, together with the Second Amendment Foundation and other groups filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief asking the high court to grant review in National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. v. Letitia James.
"Our brief argues that the Second Circuit’s decision undermines Congress’s judgment in enacting PLCAA by allowing precisely the type of coordinated, abusive litigation the statute was enacted to address and prevent," the NRA said.
The Second Amendment Foundation observed that attempts to put gunmakers out of business has a history older than the United States.
"British efforts to suppress arms commerce in the years before the Revolutionary War were correctly understood by the Founders as a deliberate attempt to disarm and enslave the American people," said Kostas Moros, SAF Director of Legal Research and Education.
"Congress enacted the PLCAA to stop the modern equivalent – coordinated litigation campaigns designed to bankrupt the firearms industry through meritless lawsuits.
"New York’s law invites precisely the kind of abusive end-run around federal protections that Congress sought to prevent.
"We urge the Court to grant review and reaffirm PLCAA’s vital safeguards for lawful commerce and Second Amendment rights."
Former President Joe Biden often railed against the PLCAA as one of its loudest critics.
"Most people don’t realize, the only industry in America, billion-dollar industry, that can’t be sued, exempt from being sued, are gun manufacturers," Biden said at an April 2021 Rose Garden ceremony.
But contrary to those claims, gunmakers are subject to the same product liability standards as any other manufacturer.
If a defect in design or manufacture of the firearm leads to injury or death, the gunmaker can be sued.
If, for example, someone is killed because Ford designed or built a defective F-150, the automaker can be sued.
But the standard people like Biden and New York Attorney General Letitia James want to hold gunmakers to could be likened to the ability to sue Ford if a drunk climbs behind the wheel of an F-150 and kills a pedestrian.
If New York is serious about wanting to reduce crime, it should start with its own "revolving door" criminal justice system.
Recent examples include:
Timothy Bohler: A career criminal with 45 prior arrests who was released on supervised release before chopping off a stranger's fingers, despite having prior violent charges dropped.
David Mazariegos: Allegedly involved in beating a man to death while having a criminal record for prior violent offenses.
Demitri Marshall: An accused subway slasher who was released despite a violent criminal history.
Jaia Cruz: Pleaded guilty to manslaughter after stabbing a USPS worker to death, despite a history of knife-related violence.
Convicted Killers Case: Two convicted killers were released without bail after being arrested for drug-dealing in Greenwich Village, due to 2019 bail reforms restricting bail for certain offenses.
Tyriek Martin: Accused of trying to rape a woman on a subway in 2025 after a 2021 arrest for attacking a 2-year-old child with a suitcase.
In addition, Atty. Gen. James has her own legal issues. As of last week she’s now facing two new federal criminal insurance fraud referrals — mere months after a federal mortgage fraud case against her was dismissed.
New York’s crime issues are of their own making. They should address those and stop manufacturing crimes to harass blameless businesses.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and is a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He's also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read more Michael Dorstewitz Insider articles — Click Here Now.
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