California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday his office would join a lawsuit targeting three manufacturers of so-called “ghost guns”—firearms without serial numbers, constructed from do-it-yourself, at-home kits.
Ghost guns have been increasingly used in violent crimes across California and the country. According to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, ghost gun usage has been confirmed in at least three separate mass shootings in California since 2013. And ghost guns seized by law enforcement in the District of Columbia jumped by an estimated 90% between 2020 and 2021.
Bonta’s office is joining a suit filed two months ago by San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, along with the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, founded by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords (D.-Arizona) who survived being shot in the head by a would-be political assassin in 2011.
“In 2019, for example, in San Francisco, ghost guns were associated with a tiny fraction of gun-related homicides,” Boudin said at a press conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. “In 2020, ghost guns were nearly 50% of gun-related homicides.”
Ghost guns have been increasingly used in violent crimes across California and the country. According to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, ghost gun usage has been confirmed in at least three separate mass shootings in California since 2013. And ghost guns seized by law enforcement in the District of Columbia jumped by an estimated 90% between 2020 and 2021.
Bonta’s office is joining a suit filed two months ago by San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, along with the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, founded by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords (D.-Arizona), who survived being shot in the head by a would-be political assassin in 2011.
“In 2019, for example, in San Francisco, ghost guns were associated with a tiny fraction of gun-related homicides,” Boudin said at a press conference in San Francisco on Wednesday.”In 2020, ghost guns were nearly 50% of gun-related homicides.”
Boudin’s complaint alleged three manufacturers—GS Performance, Blackhawk Manufacturing Group, and MDX Corp.—represented to buyers that purchasing ghost guns kits was straightforwardly legal; but failed to convey that in order for such sales to be made legal, customers would have to apply for serial numbers for the weapons and submit to background checks.
Prosecutors alleged the omission was intentional on the part of the manufacturers, two of which operate in California, as part of a strategy to circumvent state gun laws.
The San Francisco suit was filed on the heels of another in San Diego last month. That one is being pursued by firearms activists who challenge a new city law banning the sale and possession of ghost guns outright, claiming such a prohibition violates San Diegans’ Second Amendment rights.
Nearly a month after the suit was filed, San Diego police seized more than two dozen ghost guns from three homes and a business in the area. In April, the city was shaken by a deadly shooting spree in the tourist-heavy Gaslamp Quarter, which police believe was committed with a ghost gun.
On Tuesday, police in Pomona seized another unserialized weapon from the site of an illegal marijuana dispensary.
“This industry will become more dangerous if it is not properly regulated,” Bonta said at Wednesday’s press conference in San Francisco. “When firearms are built at home by individuals who have not passed a background check, and have not had their gun properly serialized, it leaves law enforcement in the dark and it leaves all of us less safe.”
Boudin’s complaint alleged three manufacturers—GS Performance, Blackhawk Manufacturing Group, and MDX Corp.—represented to buyers that purchasing ghost guns kits was straightforwardly legal; but failed to convey that in order for such sales to be made legal, customers would have to apply for serial numbers for the weapons and submit to background checks.
Prosecutors alleged the omission was intentional on the part of the manufacturers, two of which operate in California, as part of a strategy to circumvent state gun laws.
The San Francisco suit was filed on the heels of another in San Diego last month. That one is being pursued by firearms activists who challenge a new city law banning the sale and possession of ghost guns outright, claiming such a prohibition violates San Diegans’ Second Amendment rights.
Nearly a month after the suit was filed, San Diego police seized more than two dozen ghost guns from three homes and a business in the area. In April, the city was shaken by a deadly shooting spree in the tourist-heavy Gaslamp Quarter, which police believe was committed with a ghost gun.
On Tuesday, police in Pomona seized another unserialized weapon from the site of an illegal marijuana dispensary.
“This industry will become more dangerous if it is not properly regulated,” Bonta said at Wednesday’s press conference in San Francisco. “When firearms are built at home by individuals who have not passed a background check, and have not had their gun properly serialized, it leaves law enforcement in the dark and it leaves all of us less safe.”
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