The New Yorker, January 31, 2024
John Cassidy
A federal appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit from the Mexican government against American firearms manufacturers can move forward. Now the gunmakers are preparing an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The history of U.S. gun-control efforts is largely dispiriting. Yes, there have been some examples of progress, such as the spread of “red flag” laws, which allow state courts to temporarily disarm individuals who are considered a threat. At the federal level, though, the gun lobby has long exercised an effective veto. Just last month, Republicans in the Senate blocked a bill that would have banned assault weapons and introduced universal background checks for gun purchases. Over the years, even certain legislative successes—such as the 1994 federal ban on assault weapons—have been followed by terrible backward steps, including the 2004 sunsetting of the 1994 ban, and the 2005 passage of legislation that shielded gunmakers from civil suits arising from mass shootings and other bloody crimes carried out with their products.
Photograph by Daniel Karmann/ Getty
