"US arms companies under pressure from Mexico lawsuit", 18 August 2022

...As a spate of gun violence...continues...[T]he Mexican government has not missed the opportunity to talk up the historic lawsuit...against 10 US gun manufacturers and distributors.

...Mexico vs Smith & Wesson et al, seeks damages from the companies for negligence leading to Mexico’s shocking rate of gun homicides and other gun violence, which is largely attributable to guns sold in the US and trafficked over the border...

...Belize and Antigua and Barbuda filed a supporting brief with the Massachusetts court...along with the non-government organisation the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Human Security. Their brief argued that the flow of guns across the US-Mexico border also increases deadly violence throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

The attorneys-general of 14 US states and 26 districts also filed their support...

Earnings reports for the two publicly listed companies in the lawsuit, Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Company (Ruger) mention the lawsuit.

Smith & Wesson’s...[:]...intended to “aggressively” defend itself against Mexico lawsuits...

For Ruger, while it “is unlikely that litigation, including punitive damage claims, will have a material adverse effect on the financial position of the Company,” it “may have a material impact on the Company’s financial results for a particular period”..

Last month Ruger shareholders approved a proposal put forward by members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Accountability [who have become shareholders of the company in order to influence it on gun safety matters]...