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Ghost Gun Manufacturer Agrees To $5 Million Settlement With LA
"Ghost guns" seized in federal law enforcement actions displayed at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Glendale field office in April 2022.
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Robyn Beck
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FP via Getty Images
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Topline:
Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto Tuesday announced a $5 million settlement with a Nevada-based ghost gun manufacturer and distributor.
Polymer80 has agreed to:
- Pay $4 million in civil penalties.
- Its two owners agreed to pay an additional $1 million in civil penalties.
- The company is forbidden from providing customer support in assembling ghost guns throughout California.
- It must now conduct a background check of buyers and serialize its ghost gun kits before selling again in the state.
- Polymer80 can no longer say unserialized gun kits are legal in California in its ads or on its website.
Why it matters: City officials say the LAPD has recovered more than 4,200 Polymer80 ghost guns from Jan. 2020 through Feb. 2023.
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The backstory: The City Attorney's office, Everytown Law, and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP filed the suit in Feb. 2021. They claimed that Polymer80 didn't conduct background checks, making it easy for underage folks and people with criminal histories to purchase guns. They argued that disregarded federal Gun Control Act requirements and broke California gun laws.
Go deeper: In wake of Monterey Park mass shooting, new gun laws proposed
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