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☆ US Aims to Impose Tighter Curbs on Civilian Gun Exports: Bloomberg
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - The Biden administration is seeking to reduce the use of U.S.-made guns in foreign crimes and human rights violations by tightening oversight and rules governing commercial exports of semiautomatic weapons, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.This follows a review by the U.S. Commerce Department of its support for American gunmakers after a Bloomberg investigation linked increasing civilian gun exports to higher rates of global gun crime, according to the report, which cited draft rules obtained by Bloomberg. Commerce Department officials described the proposed changes to advocacy groups and others last week, telling them that the U.S. State Department would have more influence over vetting exports to countries with poor human-rights records, the Bloomberg report said, citing people who were briefed. Under the draft rules, officials would create distinct trade categories for semiautomatic firearms - including pistols, rifles and shotguns, making it easier for federal regulators to scrutinize exports of those weapons, Bloomberg said. In October last year, the Commerce Department stopped issuing export licenses for most civilian firearms and ammunition for 90 days to assess the "risk of firearms being diverted to entities or activities that promote regional instability, violate human rights, or fuel criminal activities." (Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Persons: Biden, Devika Nair, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Reuters, Bloomberg, U.S . Commerce Department, Bloomberg . Commerce Department, U.S . State Department, Commerce Department Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Appeals Court Revives Mexico’s Lawsuit Against Gunmakers
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Glenn Thrush | More About Glenn Thrush | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal appeals panel in Boston ruled on Monday that a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Mexico against U.S. gun manufacturers whose weapons are used by drug cartels can proceed, reversing a lower court that had dismissed the case. The decision, which is likely to be appealed, is one of the most significant setbacks for gunmakers since passage of a federal law nearly two decades ago that has provided immunity from lawsuits brought by the families of people killed and injured by their weapons. Mexico, in an attempt to challenge the reach of that law, sued six manufacturers in 2021, including Smith & Wesson, Glock and Ruger. It contended that the companies should be held liable for the trafficking of a half-million guns across the border a year, some of which were used in murders. In September 2022, a Federal District Court judge threw out the suit, ruling that the law prohibits legal action brought by foreign governments.

Persons: Glock Organizations: U.S, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Federal Locations: Boston, Mexico

☆ At Least 12 Dead in Suspected Attempt to Rescue Son of Mexican Cartel Hitman
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - At least 12 suspected criminals were killed on a highway near Hermosillo in the northern Mexican state of Sonora, a state official said Sunday, in what authorities called a foiled attempt to rescue the son of a cartel hitman. Another seven escaped and some are probably wounded, the Sonora's state attorney's office said in a statement. Two security officials were hospitalized after the crossfire but are now in stable condition, the statement added. The office said it suspected the group, armed with assault weapons, was attempting to rescue the son of Jesus Humberto Limon, a suspected hitman working for a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by the sons of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. The suspected hitman's son, Carlos Humberto, had been detained minutes before for "crimes against health" in Camino del Seri, it said, without giving further details.

Persons: Jesus Humberto Limon, Joaquin, El, Guzman, Carlos Humberto, gunmakers, Raul Cortes, Sarah Morland, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Reuters, Kino, Security, AK Locations: MEXICO, Hermosillo, Mexican, Sonora, Sinaloa, Camino del, Bahia, U.S

Attendees inspect Smith and Wesson firearms at the National Rifle Association's (NRA) annual meeting, in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., April 28, 2019. Smith & Wesson, which is incorporated in Nevada, did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The group of nuns filed the lawsuit in their role as Smith & Wesson shareholders, in what is known as a derivative lawsuit. The nuns alleged that the directors of Smith & Wesson have ignored growing legal risks from making assault-style rifles. Smith & Wesson warned in its 2022 annual report that it might have to pay significant damages due to legal proceedings against the company.

Persons: Smith, Bryan Woolston, Jeffrey Norton, gunmakers, gunmaker Remington, Adrian Dominican, Bon, Francis of Philadelphia, Jesus, Tom Hals, Alexia Garamfalvi, Leslie Adler Organizations: Wesson, REUTERS, Smith, Tuesday, Smith & Wesson, Sandy, Elementary, U.S, Supreme, Adrian, Bon Secours, St, Jesus &, Thomson Locations: Indianapolis , Indiana, U.S, WILMINGTON , Delaware, Nevada, Colorado, Connecticut, New York , Illinois, California, Adrian , Michigan, Marriottsville , Maryland, Aston , Pennsylvania, Ontario Province, Marylhurst , Oregon, Wilmington , Delaware

The three proposed tranches of semiautomatic and automatic rifles are valued at $34 million and are being ordered directly from American gunmakers, but they require State Department approval and congressional notification. U.S. officials attributed that to the encouragement of settlers by the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and statements by some Israeli officials supporting the annexation of the West Bank. Since Oct. 7, more than 150 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank — nearly equal to the number in all of 2022, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Settler intimidation of Palestinians, leading to their displacement from strategic areas of the West Bank, makes any prospect of that much more difficult. State Department officials who oversee weapons sales have discussed potential concerns with Israeli counterparts.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, ”, Antony J, Blinken, Mahmoud Abbas, “, Jessica Lewis Organizations: State Department, West Bank, Department, New York Times, The State Department, West Bank —, Palestinian Health Ministry, Palestinian Authority, The Times, Israeli National Police Locations: United States, U.S, American, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Ramallah, Sunday, Israel, I.N.P

☆ US must stem 'iron river' of guns flowing to Latin America, activists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Sarah Morland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 18 (Reuters) - U.S. guns, many of them exported legally, are flowing into Latin America in an "iron river" ending in the hands of drug cartels and abusive security forces, activists said Monday, calling for greater oversight from U.S. law and federal agencies. More than half of "crime guns" recovered and traced in Central America are sourced from the United States, according to U.S. gun control agency ATF. Burke called for rules preventing manufacturers from selling to dealers with lax distribution practices. Manufacturers should also stop selling armor-piercing weapons and guns that can easily be modified to shoot hundreds of bullets at a time, she said. U.S government figures show last year that income from legal firearm shipments to Latin America increased 8%, with most sales going to Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia.

☆ Gun companies reckon with declining demand after pandemic surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Stefan Sykes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

American Outdoor Brands and Vista Outdoor have reported weaker sales in their shooting categories of late. But the past year has seen gun sales fall precipitously as demand wanes. Sturm, Ruger & Company did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. Other major gun companies including American Outdoor Brands and Vista Outdoor, which purchased Remington Ammunition out of bankruptcy in late 2020, are seeing similar declines in gun sales. Vista Outdoor reported a sales decline of 4% to $432 million for its sporting products, which includes its Remington acquisition.

☆ Texas mom sues police, gunmaker in Uvalde school shooting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Hours later, Eliahna Torres was one of 19 children and two teachers massacred at their elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Eliahna Torres, 10, was one of 19 children and two teachers massacred at their elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. The settlement came after the victims successfully argued that suing over marketing under state law was an exception to the federal immunity measure. Everytown is also part of a similar lawsuit after a shooting attack on parade-goers in Highland Park, Illinois, based on a state law. Another parent whose child was wounded in the shooting and two parents whose children were on campus at the time filed the first suit related to the Uvalde shooting in late September.

Attendee inspect Smith and Wesson firearms at the National Rifle Association's (NRA) annual meeting, in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., April 28, 2019. Smith & Wesson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Wednesday's lawsuits allege that Smith & Wesson knowingly advertised its weapons, including the M&P-model rifle used by Crimo, to appeal to "militaristic fantasies" of troubled young men. "(Crimo) and other would-be mass shooters are highly susceptible to the disturbing promotional messages from Smith & Wesson," the lawsuits said. They are asking the court to stop Smith & Wesson from the allegedly illegal marketing, including by putting age restrictions on social media content and removing military references, and to award unspecified monetary damages.

☆ Lawmakers ask Commerce Dept. to curb U.S. gun exports - letter
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Mike Stone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The letter, which was signed by Warren, Senator Chris Murphy and U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro, was sent to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterIn 2020, President Donald Trump's administration eased firearms exports when it moved export license oversight from the U.S. State Department to the Commerce Department. However, in the first 16 months since the Commerce Department took over firearm export licensing, it approved nearly $16 billion worth of licenses. The lawmakers, citing U.S government data, said that was a 30% increase from when the State Department controlled firearms licensing. Warren and the other Democrats also expressed concern that since taking over oversight, the Commerce Department had denied 0.4% of license applications and approved 95%.

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