HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a coalition of 28 states in filing a brief Tuesday in defense of American gun manufacturers that Mexico blames for its gun violence problems. The states are asking the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to reverse a lower court’s ruling that would bankrupt American firearm manufacturers and disarm law-abiding Americans.

In the brief, Attorney General Knudsen asks SCOTUS to reverse the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which erroneously adopted a theory of proximate causation already rejected by SCOTUS. Mexico alleges that there is a correlation between American gun manufacturing and Mexican gun violence because the companies know some of their products are unlawfully trafficked into the country. But not only does the data not support that correlation, Congress established protections for firearm companies from being held liable for the criminal misuse of their products in the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).

“If Mexico wants to end its domestic gun problem, it may do so. It could name and report the gun dealers who allegedly sell guns to drug cartels. It could attempt to negotiate with the United States to extradite individuals who trafficked guns to Mexico. It could finish its war with the cartels. It could even close its border with the United States. But it cannot end the domestic manufacturing of American firearms,” Attorney General Knudsen wrote.

Mexico’s case was first dismissed by a federal judge in Massachusetts in 2022. Then, on appeal, the First Circuit wrongly held that Mexico’s claims fall within one of PLCAA’s exceptions, which narrowly authorizes suits alleging knowing violations of firearms laws that proximately cause a plaintiff’s injuries. To squeeze Mexico’s case into that narrow exception, the First Circuit’s decision relies on an expansive view of proximate causation that will eviscerate PLCAA. SCOTUS should reject that expansive interpretation

The attorneys general instead argue that the proximity cause fails because Mexico’s declaration of war on the cartels caused gun violence in Mexico, the cartels rarely use American retail guns, and the elimination of the American retail gun industry wouldn’t affect the cartels’ access to lethal weapons.

“That Mexico disagrees with our Nation’s history and tradition of firearm ownership is no consequence to its ability to impose its preferences on the American people via judicial fiat. This lawsuit against American gun manufacturers recycles the failed, anti-gun lawfare tactics already rejected by Congress. Mexico’s legal theories have no basis in law or fact. This Court should reverse,” the brief states.

Attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, and the Arizona Legislature joined the brief.

Click here to read the brief.