GIFFORDS VICTORY: California Settles Lawsuit with Ghost Gun Sellers

Washington DC —  Today, the GIFFORDS Law Center, the legal arm of the gun violence prevention group GIFFORDS, along with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and Keker, Van Nest & Peters, LLP, announced they reached an agreement to settle with three major ghost gun retailers. The lawsuit alleged that the retailers, Blackhawk Manufacturing Group, Inc. (Blackhawk); MDX Corporation (MDX), and GS Performance, LLC (Glockstore), were violating California law by selling ghost gun kits. 

Each company has agreed to immediately stop selling firearm parts without serial numbers in California and to stop manufacturing such parts in California. Importantly, the retailers have also agreed to stop misleading consumers about the legality of purchasing, possessing, or assembling firearm products without serial numbers in California. The agreement also included a significant monetary settlement: each retailer will pay civil penalties totaling $675,000: $500,000 for Blackhawk, $120,000 for Glockstore, and $55,000 for MDX. This win comes on the heels of GIFFORDS Law Center’s settlement in Philadelphia with Polymer 80, where the ghost gun company agreed to stop selling ghost gun parts in the city, as well as San Diego County’s lawsuit with GIFFORDS Law Center against ghost gun company Defense Distributed, announced last month.

“This is huge for California and the national fight against ghost guns,” said Esther Sanchez-Gomez, Litigation Director, GIFFORDS Law Center. “These reckless ghost gun sellers were selling ghost gun kits to California consumers who could not lawfully assemble them.  Keeping these untraceable guns out of the state will save lives. We were proud to work with Attorney General Bonta, San Francisco District Attorney Jenkins, and Keker, Van Nest & Peters, LLP to secure this critical win for the people of California.”

“The manufacture and sale of ghost gun kits has created a largely chaotic industry that is a massive threat to public safety,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “As firearm-related deaths and injuries rise, we must look for upstream interventions that get to the crux of the gun violence epidemic. Getting these manufacturers and retailers to keep untraceable ghost guns off the market is a big win for public health and safety in California.”

“We are proud to work alongside Attorney General Bonta, District Attorney Jenkins, and the Giffords Law Center to help end the manufacture, distribution, and sale of ghost gun kits in California,” said Brook Dooley, a partner with the law firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters. “These manufacturers have circumvented California’s gun safety laws for far too long, helping to promote an alarming public safety crisis. The unchecked proliferation of ghost guns will no longer undermine the safety of our communities.”

“The influx of unlawful and untraceable ghost guns poses a serious public safety issue to residents of San Francisco and the State at large,” said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. “This lawsuit should serve as a reminder that firearms laws must be followed, particularly with respect to the importation and sale of firearm precursor parts into California. I am pleased to have worked with Attorney General Bonta and our pro bono partners to achieve this important result and will not hesitate to take action in the future to enforce state and federal gun laws.” 

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