The Open Society Foundations awarded a $300,000 grant to Global Action on Gun Violence in 2023 to support a two‑year general‑support programme aimed at reducing cartel and gang violence by cutting the flow of firearms that facilitate drug trafficking and cause American deaths.
Global Action on Gun Violence was created in 2022 and that same year registered as a foreign agent for the government of Mexico. The organisation is representing Mexico in a lawsuit seeking $10 billion from Smith & Wesson, a Tennessee gun maker, alleging that US gun manufacturers are responsible for weapons that travel to Mexico and end up with drug cartels.
The legal strategy is described as an attempt to generate international pressure to reform the gun industry. The organisation says it pioneered a new approach that seeks to create pressure beyond US borders.
Republican Representative Claudia Tenney of New York described the OSF grant as troubling and characterised the Mexican lawsuit as part of a foreign‑led attack on US gun firms. She opposed the Mexican claim from the start, joined an amicus brief to the Supreme Court and called the case an assault on US sovereignty and an effort to blame US manufacturers for cartel violence. Tenney and 37 other Republican members of Congress filed an amicus brief to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in 2023 arguing that the Mexican suit disregards the US Constitution and attempts to impose Mexican gun laws on the United States.
The First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favour of Mexico, allowing the lawsuit against Smith & Wesson to proceed. The Supreme Court later heard the case and issued a unanimous decision against the Mexican government. After the ruling Global Action on Gun Violence said it will continue pursuing litigation, noting that the decision leaves open the possibility of future liability.
In June 2024 the organisation registered as a foreign agent for the Bahamas to work on reducing firearms trafficking and gun violence there. It has also filed lawsuits in other countries against Smith & Wesson and other gun manufacturers, hoping that the lack of constitutional gun‑ownership rights in those jurisdictions will aid its cases. Its foreign‑agent filings indicate it has used traditional lobbying activities on behalf of Mexico.
The OSF donation was the largest known grant the organisation has received and represented about one‑third of all OSF donations in 2023. Mexico paid the organisation $250,000 in 2023 for legal services, according to filings under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Global Action on Gun Violence did not reply to a request for comment.
An OSF spokesperson said the grant was intended to curb cartel and gang violence by stopping the flow of weapons that enable drug trafficking and cause American deaths. In March 2024 representatives of the organisation met with staff from the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to discuss gun policy and violence‑prevention measures.