Gun makers lose challenge to New York regulation permitting lawsuits against business

Guns confiscated at New York City public schools are displayed at a news conference with Mayor Eric Adams at police headquarters to discuss weapons in public colleges in New York City on Could 25, 2022 in New York City.

Spencer Platt | Getty Pictures

A federal decide on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit by a bunch of gun manufacturers, distributors and retailers challenging the constitutionality of a New York regulation that permits the state and other people affected by gun violence to sue the industry.

U.S. District Decide Mae D'Agostino in Albany rejected a request by the National Taking pictures Sports activities Basis 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 college, the latest in a spate of mass shootings, prompting renewed calls by Democrats for more durable gun laws.

The Nationwide Shooting Sports Basis, a trade group for the firearms trade, did not instantly reply to a request for comment.

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

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

The gun business group argued the legislation wrongly imposes liability on companies operating anyplace in the nation that make, sell or market weapons or ammunition which are misused by criminals in New York.