Giffords Urges FedEx Not to Ship Dangerous Ghost Guns
Washington DC — Yesterday, Giffords Law Center, the legal arm of the gun violence prevention organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, sent a letter to FedEx urging them to publicly commit not to ship ghost guns. Earlier this year, UPS announced they would stop shipping ghost guns. The letter was sent on behalf of Giffords Law Center and Bryan Muehlberger, who lost his daughter in a school shooting carried out with a ghost gun.
“On behalf of Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and Bryan Muehlberger, I write to urge Federal Express (“FedEx”) to adopt and publicly affirm that it has a policy of refusing to ship dangerous firearm products that are fueling the epidemic of gun violence in America. Popularly known as ‘ghost guns,’ the products we urge FedEx not to ship are the component parts used to produce untraceable firearms that are widely sold – without background checks – to minors, criminals, and others who cannot legally possess them. Other carriers appropriately decline to ship products sold by ghost gun companies, and it is in both FedEx’s interest and the interest of public safety for the company to do the same.
“A socially responsible shipping company should not do business with irresponsible companies whose unethical and often unlawful business practices fuel American gun violence. Ghost gun companies sell firearms in partially complete form and they are then assembled by the purchaser, often in less than one hour. Ghost gun sellers have taken the position that traditional requirements for selling firearms – like background checks and serial numbers – do not apply to them, because their guns are sold as separate components rather than completed guns and the final assembly is performed by a private individual.
“These companies’ assertion that their guns should not be treated as firearms under federal law – and therefore not subject to background checks, serialization, and record-keeping requirements – because they come in pieces is absurd…. It is easy to acquire ghost guns online…. Most devastatingly, they are known to have been the weapon used in multiple mass shootings, causing unspeakable tragedy. Disturbingly, as Bryan Muehlberger documented in the Washington Post, his daughter Gracie was murdered at her high school by a teen-aged classmate wielding a ghost gun. While grieving his daughter’s death, Mr. Muehlberger was able to order a ghost gun in her name (despite using a credit card in a different name, his own.) The company accepted the order and delivered the kit addressed to his daughter, despite the fact that she had been killed and that, had she still been alive, she would have been far too young to legally purchase a gun.
“Ghost gun manufacturers are known to be irresponsible actors employing questionable business practices with deadly irreversible consequences. FedEx should not choose to do business with these companies…. We know that FedEx is attuned to the dangers of deadly weapons being in the hands of individuals who should not be permitted to access them. Most Americans, enraged by the proliferation of mass shootings in our country, know that something needs to be done. FedEx is well positioned to help address this threat to public safety,” wrote Adam Skaggs, Chief Counsel and Policy Director, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
See the full letter here.
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