Gun makers lose challenge to New York legislation allowing lawsuits against industry

Guns confiscated at New York City public colleges are displayed at a news convention with Mayor Eric Adams at police headquarters to speak about weapons in public colleges in New York Metropolis on May 25, 2022 in New York City.

Spencer Platt | Getty Photographs

A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit by a gaggle of gun producers, distributors and retailers difficult the constitutionality of a New York law that enables the state and other people affected by gun violence to sue the business.

U.S. District Choose Mae D'Agostino in Albany rejected a request by the National Capturing Sports Foundation and gun producers, 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 faculty, the latest in a spate of mass shootings, prompting renewed calls by Democrats for more durable gun regulations.

The National Shooting Sports activities Basis, a commerce group for the firearms business, didn't instantly reply to a request for comment.

Democratic former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last July signed into regulation a measure that seeks to overcome authorized hurdles which have largely shielded the business from lawsuits related to gun violence.

The regulation permits firearm sellers, manufacturers and distributors to be sued by the state, cities or individuals for creating a "public nuisance" that endangers the public's safety and well being.

The gun trade group argued the regulation wrongly imposes liability on companies operating wherever within the nation that make, promote or market weapons or ammunition that are misused by criminals in New York.