Gun makers lose challenge to New York legislation permitting lawsuits in opposition to trade

Guns confiscated at New York Metropolis public colleges are displayed at a information conference with Mayor Eric Adams at police headquarters to talk about guns in public colleges in New York Metropolis on Could 25, 2022 in New York Metropolis.

Spencer Platt | Getty Pictures

A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit by a group of gun manufacturers, distributors and retailers challenging the constitutionality of a New York legislation that enables the state and people affected by gun violence to sue the industry.

U.S. District Choose Mae D'Agostino in Albany rejected a request by the National Capturing Sports Foundation and gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co, to enjoin enforcement of the statute.

The ruling came a day after a gunman killed 19 kids and two adults at a Texas elementary college, the latest in a spate of mass shootings, prompting renewed calls by Democrats for harder gun rules.

The Nationwide Taking pictures Sports activities Foundation, a commerce group for the firearms trade, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Democratic former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo final July signed into regulation a measure that seeks to beat authorized hurdles that have largely shielded the trade from lawsuits associated to gun violence.

The law allows firearm sellers, producers and distributors to be sued by the state, cities or people for creating a "public nuisance" that endangers the general public's safety and well being.

The gun trade group argued the legislation wrongly imposes liability on firms working wherever in the nation that make, promote or market guns or ammunition which can be misused by criminals in New York.