Nevada based gun manufacturer gets sued

BALTIMORE — The town of Baltimore filed a lawsuit towards one of many largest producers of “ghost gun” kits in america on Wednesday, the identical day Maryland’s ban on untraceable weapons went into impact, information shops reported.

Mayor Brandon Scott mentioned the swimsuit was filed in Baltimore Circuit Courtroom towards Nevada-based Polymer80, which sells kits for purchasers to assemble themselves, and Hanover Armory, an Anne Arundel County gun retailer. The swimsuit alleges that Polymer80 deliberately undermines federal and state firearms legal guidelines by designing, manufacturing, and offering kits and components with out serial numbers to patrons who don’t endure background checks.

“Takedowns aren’t sufficient. Laws just isn’t sufficient,” Scott mentioned throughout a information convention. “We’ve got to crack down on the businesses which are profiting off of destruction and loss of life in our communities.”

The brand new state legislation expands the definition of a firearm to incorporate “an unfinished body or receiver.” Anybody who sells or transfers a ghost gun faces as much as 5 years in jail and a tremendous of as much as $10,000. When a second part of the legislation takes impact in March 2023, an individual who possesses a ghost gun will face two years in jail and a tremendous of as much as $10,000.

Polymer80 President and CEO Loran Kelley Jr. declined to remark to The Related Press. An individual who answered the telephone at Hanover Armory declined to remark, information shops reported. It’s unclear whether or not both enterprise has been served.

The lawsuit was filed by town’s affirmative litigation division, the Brady Heart to Forestall Gun Violence and Sanford Heisler Sharp, a nationwide public-interest legislation agency. It’s just like ones filed by the cities of Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Whereas the swimsuit doesn’t specify what damages it seeks, Metropolis Solicitor James Shea mentioned officers are engaged on an estimate that will be “substantial.”

Metropolis police have mentioned ghost weapons have been utilized in an rising variety of shootings. No ghost weapons had been seized within the metropolis till 2018, however final 12 months police recovered 324, 14% of all firearms recovered, officers mentioned. Up to now this 12 months, ghost weapons accounted for 19% of all weapons seized. Ninety-one p.c of ghost weapons recovered by police in Baltimore from January 2020 till this April had been Polymer80 weapons, in line with the grievance.

“Ghost weapons are a devastating menace to the folks of Baltimore,” Scott mentioned. “This lawsuit shines a lightweight on Polymer80 and people who routinely create a market for lethal, untraceable weapons.”