BELLEVUE, Wash. — April 2, 2025 — The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is calling a decision by Lake County, Ill., Judge Jorge L. Ortiz to allow a wrongful death lawsuit against Smith & Wesson to proceed “outrageous.”
Seven people were killed and dozens more were injured when Robert Crimo III opened fire at a July 4, 2022 parade in Highland Park. He has pleaded guilty in the case and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. His father also pleaded guilty on seven felony counts of reckless conduct for signing his son’s Illinois Firearm Ownership Identification (FOID) card, according to a report by CBS News.
“Such legal actions are precisely why Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) back during the George W. Bush administration,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Smith & Wesson is no more responsible for the evil act committed by the Highland Park shooter than a car manufacturer would be if some drunk behind the wheel smashed into a school bus and caused a fatal crash.”
“Smith & Wesson, like any number of other manufacturers in other industries, had absolutely no control over the criminal misuse of their product,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “Allowing these types of lawsuits to proceed only invites further litigation against firearms manufacturers to drive them out of business through lawfare. While such an end result may be the desired effect by the anti-gun crowd, it would be detrimental to the exercise of Second Amendment rights and also national defense.”
More than 20 years ago, several cities tried to sue the firearms industry in an effort to hold gun makers and firearms retailers responsible for violent crimes committed by people over whom they had no control. These legal actions were dubbed “junk lawsuits” by the industry, and only succeeded in costing gun companies millions of dollars in legal fees.
“The argument today is essentially the same used almost 25 years ago,” Gottlieb recalled. “They are accusing Smith & Wesson of marketing practices aimed at teens and younger people, in violation of Illinois consumer protection laws, which is nonsense. This legal action appears solely designed to cost the company millions of dollars in an attempt to drive it out of business. We’re aware the plaintiffs have been working with billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety, which has previously supported lawsuits in an attempt to bankrupt the firearms industry, thus depriving consumers from purchasing firearms and exercising their rights under the Second Amendment.”
For more information, visit saf.org.
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.
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