Posted on 02/21/24
| News Source: WBAL TV
Baltimore City settled a lawsuit with the nation's largest manufacturer of ghost guns.
The mayor's office released a statement Wednesday morning stating that the city reached a $1.2 million settlement over its 2022 lawsuit against Polymer80 that accused the company of marketing "build your own" gun kits to minors, criminals, gun traffickers and others who need to circumvent background checks.
The city said the settlement will prohibit the company from advertising and selling ghost guns, which are untraceable firearms, in Maryland.
Additionally, the settlement bans dealers in nearby states from selling ghost guns to Maryland residents and ceases all customer support in Maryland. The company must also provide quarterly reports to the city that documents all sales of ghost guns in neighboring states.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott cited ghost guns as contributing to a surge in violence. According to the mayor's office, Baltimore police seized 462 ghost guns in 2023. BPD has already seized 43 ghost guns to date this year -- an increase of 30% compared to this time last year.
"Nine out of 10 homicides in Baltimore City are committed with guns," Scott said in a statement. "We must hold everyone who has a hand in this violence accountable, from those who choose to pull the trigger, all the way up to the gun dealers and manufacturers responsible for the flow of guns into our city."
The mayor's office said this settlement accounts for "the most expansive and strictest injunctive terms" so far of any of the ghost gun lawsuits filed by other jurisdictions across the country.
"This settlement – and the statement it sends about the harmful impact of these ghost guns – is a critical victory for the effort to confront gun violence in our communities," Scott said.
The lawsuit alleged Polymer80 sold "do it yourself" gun-assembly kits and completion kits at Hanover Armory in Maryland. The city's lawsuit against Hanover Armory continues and is currently scheduled for trial in October.