Republican attorneys general from two dozen states have filed amicus briefs defending gun manufacturers against New York legal actions that try to hold the industry accountable under a state nuisance law, arguing federal protections should preempt state overreach and warning the cases have national consequences.
Several lawsuits filed in New York by Buffalo and Rochester, plus a case targeting the state attorney general, hinge on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA, which shields firearm makers and sellers from suits when their products are used in crimes. The Republican AGs say New York’s approach is an attempt to rewrite that federal protection by recasting product liability as a public nuisance, and that the tactic could spread beyond one state. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led the coalition in filing briefs that press those points and ask courts to block what they call a dangerous legal detour.
Knudsen made the stakes plain in public remarks, insisting the fight is broader than local politics and has real national bite. “These cases go far beyond New York,” Knudsen told Fox News Digital in a phone interview. “This is not just a New York thing by any stretch of the imagination. … It affects all of us.” He argued that blue states and liberal advocates have tried to “get around” federal law and “go after and bankrupt firearms companies.”
The Montana AG singled out New York Attorney General Letitia James, accusing her of prioritizing politics over settled law and targeting an industry that is tightly regulated. “This is an attorney general who should know better,” Knudsen said. “We should be able to read case law and follow it, but she doesn’t seem to want to do that. Instead, she wants to be an activist. She wants to blame what I would say is probably the most legally regulated industry in America for the poor policies that she’s got going on in her own state.”
One of the briefs urged the Supreme Court to weigh in in National Shooting Sports Foundation v. James, warning that New York’s statute could serve as a template for states seeking to dodge federal immunity and impose sprawling liability on out-of-state manufacturers. The arguments raise constitutional flags about interstate commerce and the ability of a single state’s courts to reach manufacturers based elsewhere. Republican lawyers pressed that the PLCAA was designed precisely to prevent this sort of state-level end-run around a uniform federal rule.
The battle follows last year’s Supreme Court ruling in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Mexico, where the high court unanimously rejected Mexico’s claim against gun makers under the PLCAA because the evidence fell short. That decision left open, however, how state nuisance laws might be used to chip away at federal protections, and the present briefs ask the justices to close that loophole. The Republican AG coalition is betting the Court will not allow a patchwork of state laws to undercut a national statutory shield for lawful commerce.
Knudsen also framed the fight in constitutional and cultural terms, warning of broader consequences for the Second Amendment and the gun industry if liability expands. “We don’t have a Second Amendment in this country if we don’t have firearms manufacturers,” he said. He added a sharper line on the legal strategy in plain terms: “This is trying to kill the firearms manufacturing industry in this country one lawsuit at a time.”
In district court, the cities of Buffalo and Rochester argued manufacturers failed to install sufficient guardrails to prevent criminal misuse and therefore should pay damages for harm carried out with legally made and sold guns. The Republican AGs responded that blaming manufacturers for crimes committed with lawful products misreads both the law and the facts, noting the industry already faces strict federal and state regulation. Their briefs say allowing these claims would upend settled expectations for manufacturers, sellers, and consumers nationwide.
The Supreme Court brief naming James was joined by 24 states: Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. The district court brief opposing the city suits was joined by 23 states: Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Those sign-ons reflect a broader pattern of conservative state legal action in recent years: Knudsen previously led coalitions challenging Hawaii’s carry restrictions and a California magazine ban. The Republican AGs portray this current effort as another defense of federal law and industry protections against what they view as aggressive state-level litigation aimed at political goals rather than sound statutory interpretation.
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