Philadelphia Ghost Guns
Hausfeld worked with the City of Philadelphia Law Department and Giffords Law Center to investigate, prosecute, and settle this important pro bono matter to hold named defendants Polymer80 and JSD Supply accountable for perpetuating the City’s gun violence crisis by illegally distributing unserialized ghost gun products in Philadelphia.
Background
A “ghost gun” is a firearm that is privately manufactured, home-assembled, and untraceable. Ghost guns are sold in unfinished, disassembled form and then assembled into fully functional guns by purchasers, at home, using common household tools. Typically, ghost guns start off as an easy-to-finish frame or receiver blank purchased in a kit or separately along with other necessary parts and are assembled by the purchaser into a completed and functional firearm that has no serial number. Ghost guns can be acquired without a background check and have become the weapon of choice for those who cannot legally acquire a firearm, including minors and people with a history of felonies. Additionally, because they are unserialized and cannot be traced by law enforcement to their original purchaser, they are the weapon of choice for illegal gun traffickers, and it is unknown how many ghost guns are on the streets of Philadelphia today. Philadelphia law enforcement is increasingly recovering ghost guns in a wide variety of criminal investigations involving drugs, juvenile possession, and intimate partner violence. Ghost guns have also been involved in suicides, where firearm access plays a crucial role in mortality rate of suicide attempts.
Action
Through this legal action filed on July 5, 2023, the City sought to stop Polymer80 and JSD Supply from continuing their negligent and illegal business practices that threatened the public’s right to health and safety by marketing, selling, and dispersing unserialized ghost gun kits into Philadelphia.
Jim Kenney, Former Philadelphia Mayor, framed the case as follows: “The City of Philadelphia is taking a stand against gun violence that kills hundreds of people – including children – every year. In recent years, we’ve seen a rise in the criminal use of illegal, unserialized ghost guns, assembled using ghost gun kits sold by Polymer80 Inc. and JSD Supply. These untraceable weapons pose a dire threat to our public health and safety and are often used to inflict violence. We are holding these distributors accountable for supplying ghost guns into our streets and for the havoc they have wreaked in Philadelphia communities. Public safety is our top priority, and we are using every available resource to address and prevent the trauma and irreparable loss caused by gun violence.”
Outcome
On April 12, 2024, the City of Philadelphia achieved its public safety goals in resolving its lawsuit against defendants Polymer80 and JSD Supply. The settlement prohibits Polymer80 from ever advertising or selling ghost guns into Philadelphia. Additionally, the agreement prevents the company from marketing or selling ghost gun products in the surrounding counties for four years. The City will also receive $1.3M in compensation, which will be used for efforts to remediate the harms caused by the gun violence epidemic. The settlement also requires JSD Supply, the biggest distributor of ghost guns in Pennsylvania, to stop selling ghost guns products to consumers in Pennsylvania for four years.
“Polymer80 Inc. and JSD Supply sell ghost gun kits that can be used to assemble an unserialized, fully functioning firearm in minutes, without conducting a background check. The kits are accessible to people who are not legally permitted to carry a gun, including children, and the consequences in our communities have been devastating,” said Renee Garcia, City Solicitor. “We are grateful to reach this resolution to hold these companies accountable and stop them from marketing and selling to consumers in Philadelphia. The Law Department will continue to use every legal tool available to stop the flow of crime guns into our communities.”
“Ghost guns have plagued the streets of Philadelphia, leading to more Pennsylvanians senselessly losing their lives. Polymer80 and JSD Supply’s reckless business practices perpetrated this crisis and threatened public safety,” said David Pucino, Legal Director and Deputy Chief Counsel at Giffords Law Center. “We’re proud to have worked with the City and our co-counsel, the Hausfeld law firm, to secure a settlement with Polymer80 and JSD Supply, and keep ghost guns out of Philadelphia neighborhoods. The gun industry must be held accountable when it breaks the law and endangers Americans.”
