July 20, 2022 – Mayors Against Illegal Guns (“MAIG”), a coalition of Democratic mayors affiliated with the gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety and its gun control proponent founder billionaire Michael Bloomberg, attended a summit in New York City to plan a simultaneous attack against firearm manufacturers and distributors. Mayors of multiple Democratic controlled cities attended the meeting, including those from the cities of: Tampa, Florida; St. Louis, Missouri; Kansas City, Missouri; Little Rock, Arkansas; Baltimore, Maryland; Newark, New Jersey; Buffalo, New York; and Mount Vernon, New York. New York City Mayor Eric Adams hosted the summit, which was also attended by Michael Bloomberg. MAIG’s purported reason for the summit was to take action against manufacturers allegedly responsible for the proliferation of firearms through the use of (1) subpoena powers, (2) lawsuits premised on alleged public nuisance violations, and (3) economic pressure by making coordinated purchasing decisions not to do business with certain firearm companies.
Announcements from the summit explicitly indicate that a collective anti-firearm effort will be waged against firearm manufacturers and distributors nationwide. MAIG plans, in part, to focus on firearm industry advertising and marketing practices, which it claims is responsible for the alleged proliferation of gun violence. MAIG intends to subpoena firearm companies for internal marketing records and data, looking for documents it believes to exist concerning their knowledge of the purported dangers associated with the products they sell. MAIG will also use recently passed public nuisance laws in states like New York, California, and Washington in an attempt to bypass the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (“PLCAA”) and seek to hold firearm industry members liable for the criminal misuse of their products. Such politically motivated public nuisance lawsuits by municipalities were the direct cause of Congress passing the PLCAA to prohibit them almost twenty years ago. MAIG likewise announced that it will attempt to put economic pressure on firearm manufacturers by collectively agreeing not to purchase products from certain companies that it perceives to be so-called “bad actors.”
Renzulli Law Firm, LLP will continue to monitor any developments from the MAIG. If you have any questions concerning proactive ways to defend against claims of this nature, please contact John F. Renzulli or Christopher Renzulli.
