Yesterday I told you about a great win for a lawsuit that ended the pistol brace ban for good and now I’m going to tell you about a lawsuit, the decision that’s not good and every gun manufacturer is at risk. Welcome back to the channel that brings you the news that the mainstream media flat out ignores. I’m Jared and this is Guns and Gadgets where your Second Amendment rights are always front and center. Today’s story should have every gun owner in America paying close attention because a federal appeals court has just handed down a decision that could open the floodgates for lawsuits against the firearms industry, thus putting many of them out of business.

That’s the goal. We’re talking about the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the NSSF, and their challenge to a New York law that allows gun manufacturers to be sued not for breaking the law, but for supposedly creating a public nuisance, and the court sided with New York. Now, let’s break down exactly what this means, how we got here, and what comes next. And before I dive in deeper into this mess and what it means for you and I, I want to thank today’s sponsor, the Sonoran Desert Institute. SDI is a fantastic option if you’re interested in turning your passion for firearms into a career.

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We’re done with the tyranny, we’re done with the lies, deception, deceit, and get yours at the link in the description or scan that code to start getting your friends involved with pushing back the government. Alright guys, back in 2021, after a string of high profile shootings and mounting political pressure, New York passed a law called the Public Nuisance Liability for Gun Industry Act. This law was intentionally designed to go around the Federal Protection of Lawful Commerce and Arms Act, better known as the PLCAA, or PLACA. Now, if you’re unfamiliar with PLCAA, it was passed in 2005 to stop frivolous lawsuits that tried to hold gun manufacturers responsible for crimes committed by third parties.

You know, it’s like suing Ford when someone drives drunk, but New York didn’t care. They said, we’ll just call it something else. So their law says gun manufacturers, sellers, and even marketers can be sued if they fail to take reasonable controls, that’s their term, to prevent illegal use of their products. And who determines what reasonable is, though? In other words, you can be sued for the criminal actions of others, even if you did nothing illegal yourself. They also used vague language like Public Nuisance, which lets just about any city or victim of gun violence sue an out-of-state gun manufacturer.

And that’s how New York’s Letitia James, their attorney general, justified targeting many companies that legally sell firearms in other states, but whose products end up in New York. Naturally, the firearms industry didn’t take this lying down. NSSF, which represents gun manufacturers and dealers, filed a lawsuit along with Beretta, Glock, Hornady, Lipsies, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, and others to block the law. Their main argument that New York’s law was preempted by PLCAA, PLACA, and flat-out unconstitutional. True. NSSF argued that PLCAA prohibits states from passing laws that make lawful gun manufacturers liable for third-party criminal use of their products.

And they emphasized that if this New York law stands, it won’t stop in the Empire State. Other anti-gun states will follow, and soon the entire firearms industry could be litigated into bankruptcy. They also raised due process concerns and said the law’s language was so vague that it violated constitutional protections. But the U.S. District Court dismissed their case saying the law closely tracked the language of New York’s general public nuisance law, which has been good law since 1965. NSSF appealed to the Second Circuit, and that brings us to the ruling that dropped this week. On July 12th, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against NSSF.

Writing for the unanimous three-judge panel, it was three to nothing to decision, Judge Denny Chin said that New York’s law does not conflict with PLCAA. And here’s the reasoning he put in plain English. PLCAA blocks lawsuits that arise from the criminal misuse of guns, unless the gunmaker violates a specific state law in the process. And what New York did was create that very kind of law, a statute at the state level that gun manufacturers can allegedly violate if they don’t implement reasonable controls. So the court said this doesn’t conflict with PLCAA, it fits into one of its exceptions.

In other words, the court thinks New York’s law cleverly fits through a loophole in federal protection. The judges also rejected NSSF’s claims that the law was too vague or violated due process, saying terms like reasonable controls were sufficiently clear. Yeah, clear as mud. Judge Chin also wrote that NSSF’s reading of PLCAA would give gun manufacturers and sellers a free pass to engage in any conduct that is not specifically outlawed by statute. The court didn’t buy the argument that this was a backdoor way to punish lawful businesses. They also cited rising gun violence in New York as justification for why the state had an interest in holding the gun industry accountable, even for actions occurring outside its borders.

It’s almost like if New York going soft on crime and getting rid of the bail, the cash bail system during COVID and increasing crime and letting people, like, you know, somebody get arrested for crime and then just let right back out to go re-offend. It’s almost like that was part of the plan here. I don’t know, maybe. Now, Circuit Judge Dennis Jacobs concurred with the ruling despite having some reservations. Now, he wrote that New York had contrived a broad public nuisance statute that applies solely to the gun industry members and is enforceable by mobs of public and private actors.

And he added, the intent of Congress, when it closes a door, is not for states to thus jimmy a window. Jacobs cited a recent Supreme Court ruling and said he agrees with the other two judges on the panel that the law could be applied consistent with the federal law and the Constitution. Yeah, I doubt it, bud. Buddy also wrote that New York’s gun law is nothing short of an attempt to end run the federal law, noting that then Governor Andrew Cuomo, who’s now running for mayor of New York, said that when he signed it that it would right the wrong done by the federal law, referring to Placa.

He also said there is some legitimate reach to the law, which suffices for us to affirm the dismissal of this facial challenge. Just how limited that reach is must await future cases. So we’re not man or woman enough to decide if this violates. We don’t want to, you know, say New York’s bad. We’ll just let someone else above us do that, maybe. So what does this mean going forward? Well, this ruling sets a very dangerous precedent. New York’s law now has the green light to move forward. And that means more lawsuits against gun makers, distributors and dealers, even if they followed every single federal and state law on the books.

Makes sense. Latisha James has already used this law to go after companies like Glock, Beretta and Century Arms and others, and she’s accused them of fueling a gun violence crisis in New York, even though many of those guns were sold legally in other states. Now, with the Second Circuit siding with her, you can bet she’s just getting started. And I don’t think it’ll stop with New York, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, Hawaii and others will be watching very closely. They’ll be emboldened now to pass similar laws if the Supreme Court does not step in. NSSF has a few options left.

They can request an en banc review from the full Second Circuit, or they can take it all the way to the Supreme Court now. And given how serious this is and how directly it undermines Placa, a SCOTUS review is very likely. But in the meantime, this law stands and it could be used to drive small gun makers out of business entirely. I’m sure that’s exactly what the founders envisioned of this country when they were setting it up. Now, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a release that the decision was, quote, a massive victory for public safety and the rule of law and will help us continue to fight the scourge of gun violence to keep our communities safe.

What a twit. And Eric Terschwell, who is the executive director of Everytown Law, praised the ruling. He said the law creates a new pathway for victims and their families to hold bad actors in the gun industry accountable for their role in fueling the epidemic of gun violence that is ravaging communities across the Empire State. We the people have had enough. Now, Everytown Law and Giffords Law Center to prevent gun violence were among several gun violence protection groups that filed amicus briefs in the case, arguing that the new law simply does not create the free-for-all that gun makers predicted.

So if you think that this doesn’t affect you because you don’t live in New York, guys and gals think again. This is a direct attack on the Second Amendment and it’s being dressed up in the language of public safety and a nuisance law. And as always, I’ll keep you updated as this develops, especially if NSSF takes it to the Supreme Court. But for now, gun owners and businesses everywhere need to know the legal shield protecting the firearms industry just took a major hit. So stay vigilant. And don’t forget to like and subscribe to the channel. This is Jared from Guns and Gadgets, where your right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Be safe, stay armed, and stay free. Have a good one. Take care, America. Thank you. [tr:trw].

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