United States Supreme Court Denies Cert in NSSF v. James, Everytown Law Responds

NEW YORK – The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari in National Shooting Sports Foundation v. James today, which involves a gun lobby challenge to New York’s landmark gun industry accountability law.

“We’re pleased that the Supreme Court did not take up this meritless challenge to New York’s vital mandate that gun companies implement reasonable business controls to prevent gun violence across our state,” said Eric Tirschwell, executive director at Everytown Law. “Lower courts have repeatedly and correctly recognized that federal law allows states to hold gun companies legally accountable for violating state laws designed to prevent gun violence. We will fight to ensure the courts continue to rule that gun companies are not immune from accountability.”

Passed in 2021, New York’s first-of-its-kind law established a path to accountability for reckless business practices by members of the gun industry, creating a requirement for gun companies that sell guns into New York to put reasonable safeguards into place to address and prevent straw purchasing, gun trafficking and theft. New York’s law provides that members of the gun industry who fail to take these basic steps are subject to lawsuits if individuals are harmed as a result. 

Major players in the gun industry, such as Smith & Wesson, Glock and Ruger, joined with the gun industry trade association  – the National Shooting Sports Foundation – to file suit to block the measure. The gun industry plaintiffs claimed that the law would put them out of business. Five years later, there is no evidence that this exaggerated concern has come to pass. 

The federal district court in Albany rejected each of the industry’s arguments and upheld the law. In 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the industry’s appeal, allowing the law to stand. The industry plaintiffs then asked the Supreme Court to grant certiorari and review the challenge.

Two decades ago, Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (“PLCAA”), which gave the gun industry broad special protection from many lawsuits brought by victims of gun violence. However, as the Supreme Court recognized last year, one of PLCAA’s exceptions allows cases to go forward when they are based on knowing violations of state or federal laws applicable to the sale or marketing of firearms. And as the Second Circuit recognized, New York’s industry accountability law is one such statute. Numerous important lawsuits have already been brought under New York’s law, including claims on behalf of the survivors of the Buffalo mass shooting and a lawsuit by the New York attorney general against ghost gun sellers. Read more about NSSF v. James here.

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