Mexico City, Mexico — The Government of Mexico has filed a second lawsuit to combat illicit arms trafficking. The lawsuit filed is against five dealers that systematically participate in the trafficking of weapons, including military weapons, for criminal organizations in Mexico.
In a statement, the Government of Mexico said it is suing before the Federal District Court of Tucson, Arizona, on its behalf and for the benefit of its citizens.
This second demand is part of a multifaceted strategy to stop the avalanche of weapons to Mexico, particularly assault weapons, which equip criminal groups and cause bloodshed in the country.
The Government of Mexico filed the new lawsuit Monday before the Federal District Court of Tucson against five gun stores in Arizona. The lawsuit alleges that such sellers routinely and systematically engage in the illicit trafficking of weapons, including military-grade weapons, for criminal organizations in Mexico through sales to straw purchasers and sales that are directed to arms dealers.
The lawsuit notes that the five stores are among the Arizona dealers whose guns are most frequently recovered in Mexico. The defendant companies are: (i) Diamondback Shooting Sports, Inc. (Tucson); (ii) SNG Tactical, LLC (Tucson); (iii) Loan Prairie, LLC, known as The Hub Target Sports (Tucson); (iv) Ammo AZ, LLC (Phoenix), and (v) Sprague’s Sports, Inc. (Yuma).
The litigation is part of a multifaceted strategy by the Government of Mexico to stop the avalanche of weapons, particularly assault weapons, coming from the United States that empower criminal groups, cause bloodshed in Mexico and contribute to drug trafficking to the United States.
This court action in no way challenges the constitutional right of US citizens to bear arms, nor the right of stores to sell their products responsibly and in accordance with the law. The lawsuit involves a common cause of both countries whose citizens suffer from the illicit practices of firearms.
The earlier lawsuit filed by the Government of Mexico in Boston, Massachusetts, was the first lawsuit brought by a national government against the US arms industry. The lawsuit filed in Arizona is the first civil suit brought by a national government against gun dealers in the United States who supply the criminal market.
This second lawsuit filed in Arizona contains several arguments: that the sellers do not comply with the due care to which they are obliged, cause foreseeable damage, use misleading and biased advertising, sell weapons that are modified into automatic weapons, cause a disturbance of public order and violate state and federal laws, which causes enormous damage in Mexican territory.
A favorable ruling in this litigation will support the first lawsuit filed in Boston, since it would prove that the manufacturing companies are negligent for not monitoring or disciplining the sellers who sell their products.
The lawyers who lead the legal strategy of the Government of Mexico are Steve Shadowen of Shadowen LLC in Austin, Texas, and Jonathan Lowy of Global Action on Gun Violence in Washington, D.C.
Both are jurists of recognized prestige in the United States on the issue of cross-border harm. and gun control. The actions undertaken by Mexico have already contributed to promoting conversations and actions throughout the world to stop arms trafficking, as well as the dangerous practices of the arms industry.
The second lawsuit comes after a U.S. judge dismissed Mexico’s first lawsuit earlier this month.
