Mexico Aims To Reshape the U.S. Firearm Industry by Suing Gun Makers
President Donald Trump, who imposed punitive tariffs on Mexico this week, complains that our southern neighbor is not doing enough to stop illegal drugs from crossing the border. Mexico has a similar complaint about the United States, as reflected in a case the Supreme Court heard the same day the tariffs took effect.
Officially, the Mexican government sued American gun manufacturers, blaming them for “aiding and abetting” the trafficking of firearms to drug cartels. But its real beef is with the Second Amendment, which prohibits the sort of sweeping gun restrictions that Mexican officials think public safety requires.
Although the Mexican Constitution notionally protects “the right to keep arms at home,” it gives the government wide latitude to decide which firearms civilians may own. Mexicans can legally buy authorized weapons from only a single outlet in Mexico City, all firearms must be registered with the government, and permission to carry guns in public for self-defense is nearly impossible to obtain.
In the United States, by contrast, the Constitution guarantees “the right of the people to keep and bear arms,” which the Supreme Court has said rules out policies such as banning handguns or requiring that people demonstrate a “special need” to carry them outside the home. The Court also has said the Second Amendment covers weapons “in common use” for “lawful purposes like self-defense.”
Smith & Wesson, one of the gun maker
Article from Reason.com
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