American gun politics and policy have sway far beyond borders. U.S. guns fuel cartel violence in Mexico, find their way to crime scenes in Canada, and are contributing to a rising gun violence epidemic in the Caribbean. Despite this global dimension, the influence hasn’t run in the other direction. Global Action on Gun Violence hopes to change that. GAGV and its founder, longtime gun reform advocate, and attorney Jonathan Lowy, want to use international pressure as a lever to change U.S. gun policies, The Trace reports. They’re doing so through courts, both inside and outside the U.S., and through human rights proceedings in international bodies. GAGV is representing the government of Mexico in two lawsuits against U.S. gun manufacturers and gun dealers, handling a suit against gunmaker Smith & Wesson in Canadian court, and bringing a landmark case before the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, which argues that U.S. gun policy violates its human rights obligations.
Lowy said that he "was frustrated by the lack of progress and the limits of boldness and imagination in U.S. gun violence prevention efforts" as the violence in the U.S. was getting worse, and the passage of the Protection of Lawful Commerce and Arms Act was enacted, which made it much more difficult to sue the gun industry. So, he started looking at options internationally. "I think policymakers are much less constrained by pro-gun politics outside the U.S," Lowy said. "That led me to decide that pressure from the international community was a much-needed part of the solution to gun violence, both in the U.S. and around the world. That’s what I wanted to dedicate the rest of my career to."