FIRST ON FOX: Two dozen Republican state attorneys general are backing gun manufacturers in legal battles in New York, including in one case directly challenging New York Attorney General Letitia James’ role in attempting to expand liability against the manufacturers.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led the states in filing amicus briefs Monday in lawsuits brought by Buffalo and Rochester, as well as one brought against James’ office, all of which center on New York’s effort to hold gun makers and sellers accountable for gun violence under a state public nuisance law. The AGs argued New York was infringing on a federal law that protects the firearms’ industry from liability and that the cases carry national implications.

“These cases go far beyond New York,” Knudsen told Fox News Digital in a phone interview. “This is not just a New York thing by any stretch of the imagination. … It affects all of us.” Knudsen said blue states and liberal gun control advocates have repeatedly attempted to “get around” federal law and “go after and bankrupt firearms companies.”

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The lawsuits focus on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which is designed to shield gun makers and sellers from liability when their products are used in crimes. The Republican attorneys general argued in one of the amicus briefs that New York was attempting to sidestep that law with a “vague nuisance statute that specifically targets the firearms industry.”

Knudsen sharply criticized James, who is named in one of the cases, accusing her of pushing an activist agenda while disregarding the PLCAA.

“This is an attorney general who should know better,” Knudsen said. “We should be able to read case law and follow it, but she doesn’t seem to want to do that. Instead, she wants to be an activist. She wants to blame what I would say is probably the most legally regulated industry in America for the poor policies that she’s got going on in her own state.”

An amicus brief was filed with the Supreme Court in the case naming James, National Shooting Sports Foundation v. James, in which the attorneys general urged the high court to step in, warning that New York’s law could allow states across the country to circumvent the PLCAA by building liabilities for gun makers into state laws. 

James has previously defended New York’s 2021 law as a public safety measure and hailed lower court rulings in the case as victories for “the rule of law.”

Knudsen emphasized the stakes of the case for Second Amendment advocates.

“We don’t have a Second Amendment in this country if we don’t have firearms manufacturers,” he said. “This is trying to kill the firearms manufacturing industry in this country one lawsuit at a time.”

A separate amicus brief was filed in district court opposing lawsuits brought by the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, which argued gun manufacturers failed to install sufficient guardrails to prevent gun crimes and that the cities were entitled to damages for those crimes. 

The attorneys general countered that the gun industry is already heavily regulated and should not be held responsible for crimes in the cities that were carried out with guns that were made and sold legally.

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The Montana attorney general also warned that New York’s law reaches beyond the state’s borders and could allow New York to impose liability on gun manufacturers who are based out of state, raising constitutional concerns about interstate commerce.

The Supreme Court could decide to intervene and address the New York law, in part because lower courts have been divided over how to interpret exceptions built into the PLCAA. Knudsen said he expects the justices to weigh in after they already addressed the law in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Mexico, a landmark case decided in favor of gun manufacturers last year.

In that case, Mexico had argued that under the PLCAA, several major gun companies could be held responsible for illegal firearms trafficking and the gun violence that resulted from it. The justices found 9-0 that Mexico did not present enough evidence to make that claim. But the high court’s ruling did not address state laws that serve to counter the PLCAA, such as the one in New York.

The Supreme Court brief focused on James was joined by 24 states: Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The district court brief was joined by 23 states: Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

They mark the latest in a string of gun-related court interventions from Knudsen, who previously led red states in opposing Hawaii’s carry restrictions and a California magazine ban.

Fox News Digital reached out to Letitia James’ office for comment, as well as an attorney in the Buffalo and Rochester case.

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An aviation expert told Fox News Digital that passengers seated near exits or toward the rear of a plane may have better chances of survival in an emergency.

“The water bill went up. The light bill went up. Now property taxes — what exactly are we doing here?”

This was one of many cries of worry and frustration voiced by New York City residents at a recent public meeting, where they said Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s policies since taking office have made life more expensive. The backlash is significant as Mamdani, like many Democrats who swept into office in November, campaigned explicitly on making life more affordable for constituents. 

It’s not just in New York. Like Mamdani, Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger campaigned as a vocal critic of Republican economic policies. Now, she is facing voter outrage as costs in the Old Dominion continue to rise, and an economic climate that is increasingly seen as hostile to businesses drives away some of the biggest contributors to the tax base.

The trend underscores mounting political risk for Democrats, who will now need to demonstrate that they’re keeping their promises ahead of the midterms.

In New York City — the world’s financial capital and home to nearly 9 million — rising costs have national consequences.

Residents say Mamdani is backtracking on campaign promises to lower housing costs, pointing to a proposed property tax hike, rising water bills and higher electricity costs as signs that life is only getting more expensive.

With the city’s housing market already under strain, where demand far exceeds available supply, critics say Mamdani’s proposed rent freeze could discourage new construction, tighten inventory and push prices higher over time.

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“Economists — whether they are on the right or on the left — essentially are in universal agreement that when the government implements price controls in the rental market, you end up with housing shortages,” said E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the Heritage Foundation.

Antoni argued the city’s affordability challenges are largely policy-driven. “If we look at the ways in which New York City is more expensive than other places around the country, it is chiefly due to bad public policy that has imposed those costs,” he said, adding that “doubling down on those government failures will only make it worse.”

Edward Pinto, a senior fellow and co-director of the AEI Housing Center at the American Enterprise Institute, said Mamdani’s proposal to freeze rents and increase property taxes in New York would be a “one-two wealth destruction punch.”

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“The rent freeze would drive multifamily property values down and the increase in property taxes would drive both multifamily and single-family values down. At the same time, the construction of new supply would contract and property upkeep would diminish as repairs are deferred and improvements are not made,” Pinto said.

For tenants and homeowners, those shifts could translate into fewer housing options and higher long-term costs.

When asked about Mamdani’s latest proposal — an estate tax plan that could pull middle-class families into a levy long aimed at the wealthy — Pinto warned it would deal a new blow to the city.

“This proposal would destroy NYC’s wealth in a different manner,” Pinto said. “This estate tax proposal will mistreat capital and result in the voluntary exodus of NYC residents and their wealth to places like Florida and Tennessee,” he added.

Despite the fact that Spanberger campaigned on affordability in Virginia, lawmakers from her party in Richmond are advancing a sweeping set of tax proposals that will raise costs for residents and businesses.

They propose more than 50 taxes targeting income, investment and everyday economic activity, from joining a gym to bringing pets to the groomers.

“This is part of a broader picture we’re seeing across blue states,” said Jack Salmon, a research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University focusing on tax and fiscal policy. “These states seem particularly determined to raise the tax burden on their highest-earning taxpayers.”

At the center are changes to Virginia’s tax structure. One bill would raise top income tax rates to as high as 10%, while another would impose a 3.8% tax on investment income. 

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For some high earners, those levies could stack — pushing rates to 13.8% and moving Virginia closer to high-tax states.

Lawmakers are also considering a range of new taxes and fees across the economy, from higher sales taxes and levies on deliveries and rideshare services to taxes on everyday services like repairs, gym memberships, dry cleaning and dog grooming, along with new taxes on large employers.

Adding to the strain are rising energy costs. A Dominion Energy rate hike that took effect Jan. 1 reflects, in part, the costs of transitioning to offshore wind under the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) — a policy that could result in higher utility bills for customers.

Spanberger has also moved to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a carbon pricing program her predecessor, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, exited — a move critics warn will increase the burden on household energy bills.

The mounting costs are already drawing concern from business leaders. Aerospace giant Boeing plans to move its headquarters from Virginia to Missouri, a shift expected to hit the state’s tax base and business climate. 

Even if the immediate fiscal impact is limited, the loss of high-paying headquarters jobs and the spending they support is expected to erode tax revenues and create ripple effects across the local economy, from reduced consumer spending to weaker demand for services.

With costs rising and frustration mounting, voters will soon decide whether those promises still hold — or whether change is coming in November.

Mamdani and Spanberger’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.