Current:Home > ScamsGhost gun manufacturer agrees to stop sales to Maryland residents -WealthPro Academy
Ghost gun manufacturer agrees to stop sales to Maryland residents
View
Date:2025-04-15 09:35:18
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! (27)
Related
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Matthew Perry's Doctors Lose Prescription Credentials Amid Ketamine Case
- What time is the 'Love Island USA' Season 6 reunion? Cast, where to watch and stream
- Doja Cat and Stranger Things' Joseph Quinn Pack on the PDA After Noah Schnapp DM Drama
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- Periods don’t have to be painful. Here’s how to find relief from menstrual cramps.
- An Alabama police officer shot and killed an armed man, officials say
- Over 165,000 pounds of Perdue chicken nuggets and tenders recalled after metal wire found
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- One dead and six missing after a luxury superyacht sailboat sinks in a storm off Sicily
Ranking
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- The Most Unsettling Moments From Scott Peterson's Face to Face Prison Interviews
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Twist of Fate
- Ernesto strengthens to Category 1 hurricane; storm's swells lead to 3 deaths: Updates
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- What do grocery ‘best by’ labels really mean?
- 'It's happening': Mike Tyson and Jake Paul meet face to face to promote fight (again)
- Aces coach Becky Hammon again disputes Dearica Hamby’s claims of mistreatment during pregnancy
Recommendation
'Most Whopper
'The Bachelorette' hometowns week: Top 4 contestants, where to watch
Dolphins’ Tagovailoa says McDaniel built him up after Flores tore him down as young NFL quarterback
Scramble to find survivors after Bayesian yacht sinks off Sicily coast
SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
Betty Jean Hall, advocate who paved the way for women to enter coal mining workforce, dies at 78
Taylor Swift, who can decode you? Fans will try as they look for clues for 'Reputation TV'
Woman missing for 4 days on spiritual hiking trip found alive in Colorado