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

Guns confiscated at New York Metropolis public schools are displayed at a information conference with Mayor Eric Adams at police headquarters to discuss guns in public faculties in New York City on Could 25, 2022 in New York Metropolis.

Spencer Platt | Getty Photos

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

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

The ruling got here a day after a gunman killed 19 kids and two adults at a Texas elementary college, the newest in a spate of mass shootings, prompting renewed calls by Democrats for tougher gun regulations.

The Nationwide Shooting Sports Basis, a commerce group for the firearms trade, did not immediately respond to a request for remark.

Democratic former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last July signed into law a measure that seeks to beat legal hurdles that have largely shielded the industry from lawsuits related to gun violence.

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

The gun business group argued the regulation wrongly imposes liability on companies operating wherever in the country that make, promote or market weapons or ammunition which might be misused by criminals in New York.