Gun Maker Smith & Wesson Sues New Jersey to Block Subpoena
Democratic attorney general is seeking evidence of fraudulent marketing by firearms manufacturer, according to lawsuit
Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. one the nation’s largest gun makers, filed suit Tuesday to block a subpoena from the New Jersey attorney general seeking information about its advertising practices.
The subpoena, which was issued on October 13 according to the suit, is part of a broader legal push by gun-control advocates targeting the gun industry over its marketing practices.
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, who previously sued companies that sell parts used to make untraceable firearms called “ghost guns,” wants Smith & Wesson to turn over a swath of internal documents related to advertising guns in the state. The subpoena, a copy of which is included in the suit, includes requests for any marketing claims that Smith & Wesson guns are safer than others, that carrying a concealed weapon enhances a person’s lifestyle and that novices can use the company’s guns effectively for self-defense.
Smith & Wesson’s attorneys said in its complaint, filed in federal court in New Jersey, that the subpoena “seeks evidence of consumer fraud relating to advertising—but in reality, it seeks to suppress and punish lawful speech regarding gun ownership in order to advance an anti-Second Amendment agenda that the Attorney General publicly committed to pursue.”
The gun manufacturer wants the court to stop the state from enforcing the subpoena.