Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has filed two amicus briefs leading coalitions of state attorneys general in defense of American firearms manufacturers facing lawsuits in New York that seek to hold the companies liable for gun crimes committed in the state.
Knudsen argues both cases circumvent federal protections established under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005, a federal law Congress passed specifically to shield firearms manufacturers and sellers from being held liable for the criminal misuse of their products.
In the first brief, joined by 23 other attorneys general, Knudsen is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision in National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. v. Letitia James that upheld a New York law allowing states and individuals to bring public nuisance lawsuits against the gun industry for contributing to conditions that endanger public safety through the sale, manufacturing, importing or marketing of firearms.
