NY AG Cracks Down On Sellers Of Ghost Gun Parts In The HV, Elsewhere

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — After an investigation found 28 dealers in the state illegally advertising and selling gun parts used to create homemade, untraceable firearms called ghost guns, including four in the Hudson Valley, New York Attorney General Letitia James has ordered them to stop.

In cease-and-desist letters to all 28, she ordered them to immediately stop advertising and selling the prohibited parts and warned of the legal consequences, including imprisonment, if they do not comply.

"We are not going to wait for another tragedy, my office is taking action to crack down on gun sellers that are illegally advertising ghost guns," she said in an announcement Wednesday. "If gun sellers do not comply with the law, they will face the full force of my office."

In addition to the four local dealers, nine are in Western New York, six on Long Island, five in Central New York, two in the Southern Tier, and one in the Capital Region, James said.

New York law prohibits the sale, exchange, or disposal of unfinished frames and receivers. Also known as 80 percent frames, they do not have serial numbers and can easily be used to make untraceable guns at home using basic tools.

“There’s no reason why anyone should have access to untraceable, unserialized ghost guns — and when companies illegally sell those ghost guns, they’re putting our lives in danger,” said Nathalie Arzu, a member of the New York chapter of Moms Demand Action and a member of the Everytown Survivor Network. Her 16-year-old brother, Jose Webster, was shot and killed in the Bronx in 2011.

Police have been coping with rising numbers of ghost guns in the Hudson Valley.

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“Uvalde. Buffalo. Sunset Park. New Yorkers are sick to their stomachs from bearing witness to horrific tragedies because of our federal government’s failure to properly regulate guns,” said State Senator Brad Hoylman. “In the federal void, New York is leading the way. Last year, we made ghost guns illegal. They are dangerous, untraceable firearms bought by people looking to evade New York’s robust background check requirements."

The OAG’s investigation found that most of the 28 sellers advertised the prohibited unfinished receivers, frames, and kits online or at gun shows and on their websites, with some allowing consumers to buy online and others telling potential customers to call and ask for the price.

The enforcement action is the result of the Jose Webster Untraceable Firearms Act and the Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act, which recently came into effect and criminalizes the sale of ghost guns and requires gunsmiths to register and serialize all such firearms.

Unfinished receivers hold the upper, lower, and rear portions of a semiautomatic rifle together. Purchasers of unfinished receivers only have to make a few small changes with a common drill press to transform an unfinished receiver into a fully operational one. Once milled, a receiver may be readily turned into a fully-assembled, illegal assault weapon.

Similarly, a purchaser of an unfinished frame can use commonly available tools to finish the frame, which may then be readily assembled into an untraceable handgun.

Some of the businesses identified by OAG were selling kits that contained unfinished frames and the tools needed to put a finished gun together at home. They advertised “blank serialization plates,” which makes the firearms untraceable.

"While gun shops and producers chase profits at any cost, children suffer the consequences. This last year guns became the leading cause of death for children in America, for the first time outpacing motor vehicle deaths. That horrifies us and scares us," said Zeenat Yahya, policy director, March For Our Lives. "We’re pleased that Attorney General Letitia James is taking this important step to ensure that our laws aren’t just paper tigers, and that they actually serve to protect young people and our communities."

James said Wednesday’s action is the latest example of her commitment to cracking down on ghost guns. In April 2021, she sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice urging them to strengthen federal regulations on ghost guns. In February 2021, she led a coalition of 21 attorneys general from around the nation in filing an amicus brief in the case Grewal v. Defense Distributed before the U.S. Supreme Court, where the coalition fought a lawsuit that seeks to stop states from enforcing their laws against a company disseminating 3D-printed gun files on the internet.

In September 2019, James sent cease and desist letters to the companies behind a number of websites selling parts to New Yorkers that could be easily assembled into illegal assault weapons. In July 2020, she announced that all the companies had complied.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC:

• Man Arrested After Ghost Guns, Assault Rifles Found In Home
• 14-Year-Old In Custody Had Fully Automatic 'Ghost' Gun: Police
• Man Made Gun Parts With 3D Printer: DA