Interview with Attorney Jonathan Lowy of the Global Action on Gun Violence:
March 19, 2026—In a landmark case that made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Mexico and a team of lawyers sued U.S. gun manufacturers for crimes committed by criminals and cartels armed with military-grade U.S.-made weapons. The Supreme Court shut that case down last June, upholding immunity for gun makers. But the story didn’t end there. The case garnered worldwide attention—a factor that impacts public interest and policymaking.
Moreoever, the litigating team is still active. Mexico and its team of lawyers are litigating a separate case in Arizona against gun dealers.
Jonathan Lowy, founder and president of Global Action on Gun Violence, provides an update on the issue of gun trafficking that impacts the Western Hemisphere.
How U.S. Guns Get to Cartels: Bad Actors, Bad Laws
What’s essential in understanding is how and why criminals and cartels in Mexico get weapons in the first place.
“Mexico has very strong gun laws that prevent criminals from getting guns. They don’t manufacture guns. They had one gun store in the entire country, and that was on an Army base,” Lowy said. Theoretically, they shouldn’t have a gun violence problem. “However, Mexico has one of the worst gun violence problems in the world.”
It’s a problem that “results almost entirely from the United States,” due to weak U.S. gun laws. He estimates that about 80-90 percent of crime-related guns in Mexico originated in the United States.
Profit Motive Trumps Safety
It’s significant to note is the problem is not industry-wide. It is due to bad actors in the industry.
“Most gun dealers in the United States are responsible business people. They care about their sales practices and public safety,” Lowy said. “The problem is you’ve got a small percentage of gun dealers who are really bad actors.”
He argues that gun manufacturers have a responsibility to impose standards, conditions, and training to ensure the weapons are not trafficked criminally.
“Some of the manufacturers put profit ahead of everything,” Lowy said.
Case Against Gun Manufacturers Closed
The Mexican government initiated a case in 2021 against U.S. firms Smith & Wesson, Barrett Firearms, Beretta U.S.A., Colt’s Manufacturing, Glock Inc., and Century International Arms, among others. It was a landmark case that shed light on cross-border gun trafficking and sales to criminal cartels.
The Mexican government sought financial damages, civil penalties, and restitution. It also used the lawsuit as part of a broader strategy to fight organized crime and armed violence.
The plaintiffs argued that the “Defendants’ willfully blind, standardless distribution practices aid and abet the killing and maiming of children, judges, journalists, police, and ordinary citizens throughout Mexico.”
Ultimately, the case could not effectively challenge U.S. immunity for gun makers, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) of 2005.
The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of a decision written by Justice Elena Kagan that plaintiffs did not prove that American gun makers aided and abetted unlawful gun sales. Therefore, the immunity shield held.
Supreme Court decision: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1141_lkgn.pdf
However, the decision was narrowly focused and does not affect the second lawsuit, which continues in Arizona.
Arizona Case Against Gun Dealers
In the current case, Estados Unidos Mexicanos v. Diamondback, Mexico alleges that dealers in the United States knowingly sold guns to straw purchasers and traffickers.
In this case, Mexico and its lawyers argue that the Defendants “systemically participate in trafficking military-style weapons and ammunition to drug cartels in Mexico” through “reckless and unlawful business practices,” such as straw sale, bulk sales, and repeat sales.
The Defendants include Diamondback Shooting Sports, Inc. (Tucson), along with SNG Tactical, Loan Prairie (The Hub Target Sports), Ammo AZ, and Sprague’s Sports. The complaint is available here: https://actiononguns.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/221022-Mexico-v-Diamondback-AZ-Dealer-Complaint.pdf
See the full interview with Lowy on YouTube.
Video Interview:
@3:30 Types of guns, military-grade weapons
@5:00 Bad actors in the gun industry.
@8:35 Mexico’s lawsuit
@11:10 Profit Motive “Some of the manufacturers put profit ahead of everything.”
@22:00 pre-PLCAA lawsuits and a big settlement with Smith and Wesson in 2000.
Sources and Notes:
Global Action on Gun Violence is U.S.-based nonprofit that is registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
