In a $5 million settlement, the Nevada-based Polymer80 was permanently barred from selling its “ghost gun” kits in California without first doing background checks on potential customers and serializing its goods, according to Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto.
The company must pay $4 million in civil fines as part of the settlement, and its two founders must each pay an additional $1 million.
In a statement, Feldstein Soto stated that the settlement “holds Polymer80 and its founders accountable, keeps guns out of the hands of prohibited people, makes L.A. neighborhoods safer, and will help law enforcement to their jobs.”
The tweet below confirms the news:
As part of the settlement, Nevada-based Polymer80 must pay $4 million in civil penalties, and its two founders must pay an additional $1 million in civil penalties. https://t.co/NMPQ7wLF18
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 1, 2023
“Gun violence has claimed the lives of more than 16,000 people so far in 2023. This is a crucial step in averting avoidable fatalities, especially in light of Congress’ ongoing inaction.
The City Attorney’s Office and partners Everytown Law and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP filed the lawsuit in February 2021, alleging that Polymer80 was selling its gun kits in violation of federal Gun Control Act requirements and California gun laws, citing an increase in the number of nonserialized, untraceable guns found during police investigations.
They contended that if background checks weren’t mandated, persons who couldn’t acquire weapons because of their criminal histories, age, or mental health conditions could readily purchase the company’s wares.
Additionally, the settlement would forbid Polymer80 from offering customer service to anybody in California who is seeking to build so-called “ghost guns.” Additionally, the business will no longer be able to claim that unserialized gun kits are permitted in the state in its advertisements or on its website.
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According to city officials, the Los Angeles Police Department found more than 4,200 Polymer80 ghost firearms between January 2020 and February 2023.
Ghost guns are the nation’s fastest-growing issue in terms of gun safety, according to the national organization Everytown for Gun Safety.
“Online, no-questions-asked sales of ghost gun-building kits have funneled too many firearms into the hands of felons, minors, and other prohibited people,” said Eric Tirschwell, executive director of Everytown Law. “This settlement sends a loud and clear message that gun sellers that put profit over public safety will be held accountable.”
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