Supreme Court Supported by The case focused on whether the Mexican government could sue U.S. manufacturers over claims that they shared blame for violence by drug cartels. By Abbie VanSickle Reporting from Washington The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a lawsuit by the Mexican government against U.S. gun manufacturers that attempted to hold them responsible for drug cartel violence. In a unanimous decision written by Justice Elena Kagan, the court held that U.S. legislation that shields gun makers from liability in certain cases barred the lawsuit. Mexico, she wrote, had not plausibly argued that American gun manufacturers had aided and abetted gun dealers’ unlawful sales to Mexican drug traffickers. Mexico had claimed that the gun industry’s production and sale of arms in the United States helped fuel and supply drug cartels, harming the Mexican government. Mexican government lawyers also claimed the companies were aware that some of their guns were illegally trafficked, and that the country should therefore be allowed to sue under an exception in the law. In her opinion, Justice Kagan noted that although Mexico has only one gun store and issues fewer than 50 gun permits a year, the country “has a severe gun violence problem, which its government views as coming from north of the border.” During an oral argument in early March, a majority of the justices appeared skeptical that Mexico could prove a direct link between gun makers and cartel violence. Several justices appeared persuaded that a 2005 law shielding gun makers and distributors from most domestic lawsuits over injuries caused by firearms would also apply to the case brought by the Mexican government. The case began in 2021, when Mexico filed a lawsuit against a number of American gun makers and one distributor, arguing that they shared blame for drug cartel violence. The country asked them for $10 billion in damages. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.