(ThePatriotWire)- Following a mass shooting earlier this year that left ten people dead, the city of Buffalo, New York, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against a number of gun manufacturers.
Democratic-turned-independent mayor Byron Brown said the lawsuit was filed in the state Supreme Court and named Smith & Wesson, Bushmaster, Colts, Glock, Beretta, and Remington as defendants. The state Supreme Court received the lawsuit filing.
A news release mentioned the may mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo that was carried out with racial motivation. The male suspect, accused of first-degree murder, attempted murder, committing a domestic act of terrorism out of hatred, and possessing weapons, entered a plea of guilty last month.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Brown stated that members of our community had suffered too much for too long from gun violence.
“We must take every available measure to reduce gun violence. Allowing illegal gun possession has a negative impact on our neighborhood and especially on black and brown communities,” said Brown.
According to the mayor, the lawsuit is “another proactive strategy” that they are employing in Buffalo to maintain the “safety of our community.”
They have the authority to enforce state public nuisance laws, and Brown declared, “As Mayor, I intend to do everything I can to protect people and prevent the loss of lives brought on by gun violence.”
He said the public’s right to use open space without fear had been unreasonably interfered with by the conduct of some gun manufacturers.
The defendants are accused of “actions that have created, maintained, or contributed to a condition in the City of Buffalo that endangers the safety and health of the public,” according to the lawsuit.
Additionally, it stated that the firearms industry manufactured or distributed thousands of firearms recovered in crimes committed in the City of Buffalo and New York State.
It demands financial compensation and that the defendants “establish an abatement fund with adequate capital to remove the public nuisance they are accountable for creating, exacerbating, and/or perpetuating.”
Bushmaster, one of the defendants, responded by saying the allegations against Bushmaster Firearms Industries, Inc. are untrue. They added that they hadn’t had a chance to thoroughly review them yet.
“Our counsel is currently reviewing the complaint and considering a course of action to address both this lawsuit and the potentially defamatory claims made against Bushmaster Firearms Industries, Inc.,” the company’s legal team reads.
