Letitia James

Roughly two dozen Republican state attorneys general, led by Montana AG Austin Knudsen, have filed new amicus briefs backing gun manufacturers in three related New York cases, including National Shooting Sports Foundation v. James now before the U.S. Supreme Court. The filings argue that New York’s 2021 public‑nuisance statute, which targets the firearms industry for harms from gun violence, unlawfully sidesteps the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which generally shields gun makers and sellers from liability when their products are used in crimes. One brief urges the Supreme Court to intervene in the NSSF case against New York Attorney General Letitia James, warning that if New York’s approach stands, other states could copy it to effectively nullify PLCAA through state law. A separate brief in federal district court opposes suits by Buffalo and Rochester that seek damages from gun companies for local shootings, with the AGs insisting manufacturers already operate in a heavily regulated environment and cannot be held responsible for criminal misuse of legally made and sold firearms. Knudsen frames the dispute as an existential fight for the firearms industry and Second Amendment access, while James maintains the nuisance law is a legitimate public‑safety tool that lower courts have already upheld, setting up a potential nationwide precedent on how far states can go in imposing civil liability on gun makers.