Officially, the Mexican government sued American gun manufacturers, blaming them for “aiding and abetting” the trafficking of firearms to drug cartels. But its real beef is with the Second Amendment, which prohibits the sort of sweeping gun restrictions that Mexican officials think public safety requires.

Mexico argues the majority of guns found at Mexican crime scenes come from the United States. It seeks some $10 billion in damages from U.S. gunmakers.

The U.S. Supreme Court wrestled on Tuesday with a bid by two American gun companies to throw out the Mexican government's lawsuit accusing them of aiding illegal firearms trafficking to drug cartels and fueling gun violence in the southern neighbor of the United States.