Current:Home > BackGhost gun manufacturer agrees to stop sales to Maryland residents-LoTradeCoin
Ghost gun manufacturer agrees to stop sales to Maryland residents
View Date:2024-12-23 18:22:29
BALTIMORE (AP) — A leading manufacturer of ghost guns has agreed to stop selling its untraceable, unassembled firearms to Maryland residents under a settlement agreement announced Wednesday by the city of Baltimore.
City leaders sued the company, Nevada-based Polymer80, two years ago “in response to the rapid escalation of ghost guns appearing on Baltimore streets and in the hands of minors,” according to the mayor’s office. Officials said the settlement grants the city all measures of relief requested in the lawsuit, including $1.2 million in damages.
“Nine out of ten homicides in Baltimore City are committed with guns,” Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement. “This settlement — and the statement it sends about the harmful impact of these ghost guns — is a critical victory for the effort to confront gun violence in our communities.”
A spokesperson for Polymer80 didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The suit accused Polymer80 of intentionally undermining federal and state firearms laws by designing, manufacturing and providing gun assembly kits without serial numbers to buyers who don’t undergo background checks. It was filed the same day Maryland’s statewide ban on ghost guns went into effect in 2022 following a law change that expanded the definition of a firearm to include “an unfinished frame or receiver.”
The Biden administration in 2022 announced new federal regulations aimed at curbing the proliferation of ghost guns, which authorities say have been turning up at crime scenes across the nation in increasing numbers. The regulations, which include expanding the definition of firearms, were quickly challenged in court by gun rights groups.
Attorneys for the city of Baltimore have argued that Polymer80 falsely classified its gun-making kits as “non-firearms,” allowing them to end up in the hands of convicted felons and minors — people who otherwise would be banned from purchasing firearms.
While Baltimore recorded a significant decline in homicides and shootings last year, city leaders are grappling with a rise in youth violence.
Baltimore leaders partnered with the national nonprofit Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in filing the lawsuit.
“The only market for ghost guns is people who can’t buy guns legitimately at a gun store,” said Philip Bangle, senior litigation counsel for Brady. He questioned why else someone would purchase a firearm they have to build themselves — without quality control checks or other measures to ensure it functions properly when the trigger is pulled.
Polymer80 has been targeted by similar litigation in other cities, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
The city of Los Angeles sued the company after a teenager used its products in a high school shooting that left three children dead. That case similarly yielded a settlement agreement under which Polymer80 agreed to stop selling ghost guns in California. The case in Washington also resulted in a $4 million judgment against Polymer80 and barred the sale of its products to city residents.
But officials in Baltimore said their settlement goes the furthest to date in restricting the company’s operations. Under the agreement, it can’t advertise in Maryland and the sales ban extends to dealers in nearby states doing business with Maryland residents. The company also has to submit quarterly reports documenting all sales of ghost guns in neighboring states, according to city officials.
The lawsuit was also filed against the Maryland gun shop Hanover Armory, which isn’t part of the settlement agreement. That piece of the litigation remains ongoing.
Officials said Baltimore police seized 462 ghost guns last year, a number that demonstrates their prevalence throughout the city.
Scott, who’s running for reelection as Baltimore mayor this year, said the lawsuit shows his administration is “using every tool at its disposal to address the epidemic of gun violence we face.”
veryGood! (796)
Related
- Smithfield agrees to pay $2 million to resolve child labor allegations at Minnesota meat plant
- Reddit stock is about to go hit the market, the platform's users are not thrilled
- What to know about Zach Edey, Purdue's star big man
- NASCAR Bristol race March 2024: Start time, TV, streaming, lineup for Food City 500
- Fire crews gain greater control over destructive Southern California wildfire
- Teen Mom's Briana DeJesus Says Past Relationships Taught Her to Look for Red Flags
- Biden praises Schumer's good speech criticizing Netanyahu
- Book excerpt: The Morningside by Téa Obreht
- CFP bracket prediction: SEC adds a fifth team to field while a Big Ten unbeaten falls out
- Oregon county plants trees to honor victims of killer 2021 heat wave
Ranking
- Traveling to Las Vegas? Here Are the Best Black Friday Hotel Deals
- Reba McEntire Denies Calling Taylor Swift an Entitled Little Brat
- Celine Dion opens up about stiff person syndrome diagnosis following Grammys appearance
- Denny Hamlin wins NASCAR race at Bristol as tire wear causes turmoil to field
- See Leonardo DiCaprio's Transformation From '90s Heartthrob to Esteemed Oscar Winner
- In images: New England’s ‘Town Meeting’ tradition gives people a direct role in local democracy
- Denver police investigate double homicide at homeless shelter
- Kent State coach Rob Senderoff rallies around player who made costly foul in loss to Akron
Recommendation
-
Why Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams May Be Rejoining the George R.R. Martin Universe
-
U.S. government charter flight to evacuate Americans from Haiti, as hunger soars: There are a lot of desperate people
-
‘There’s no agenda here': A look at the judge who is overseeing Trump’s hush money trial
-
Hormel concedes double-dippers had it right, invents chips so all can enjoy snacking bliss
-
Paraguay vs. Argentina live updates: Watch Messi play World Cup qualifying match tonight
-
Denver police investigate double homicide at homeless shelter
-
‘I saw pure black’: A shotgun blast pulverized Amedy Dewey's face. What now?
-
‘I saw pure black’: A shotgun blast pulverized Amedy Dewey's face. What now?