Attorney General William Tong on Tuesday sued four out-of-state firearm dealers selling and advertising illegal, untraceable “ghost gun” parts in Connecticut.
On October 1, 2019, Connecticut banned the sale and receipt of unfinished frame and lower receiver gun components lacking serial numbers or unique identification, which are used to build ghost guns. Despite that, defendants Indie Guns of Florida, Steel Fox Firearms of Florida, Hell Fire Armory of North Carolina, and AR Industries of Utah each sold and shipped illegal ghost guns to an undercover investigator from the Office of the Attorney General.
The four firearm dealers each advertise and sell a variety of firearms and components, including ghost gun components that allow consumers to easily assemble handguns, fully functional AR-15 style automatic rifles, and other untraceable illegal guns. These components are shipped without serial numbers direct to consumers, bypassing federal licensed firearms dealers and background checks. The defendants ship illegal ghost gun parts directly to consumers without confirming whether the consumers are licensed to possess a firearm.
While websites for AR Industries and Steel Fox stated that they would not ship “AR-15 80% Lower Receiver” ghost gun kits to Connecticut, both companies shipped illegal ghost guns to a Connecticut address anyway. Indie Guns and Hell Fire had no warning, notice, or disclaimer.
By selling products that are expressly prohibited under Connecticut law, the lawsuit accuses each company of unfair and deceptive advertising, marketing and sales in violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.
“Ghost guns are an untraceable menace that exist for one reason—to evade law enforcement and registration. They are a threat to public safety and they are illegal in Connecticut. If you ship ghost guns into Connecticut, we will find you, stop you, and hold you accountable,” Attorney General Tong said in a release. “Indie Guns, Steel Fox Firearms, Hell Fire Armory and AR Industries all knew their ghost guns were illegal in Connecticut and they shipped these weapons to Connecticut anyway. We won’t let them get away with it.”
Assistant Attorney General Rebecca Quinn, Legal Investigator Caylee Ribeiro, and Deputy Associate Attorney General Mike Wertheimer, head of the Consumer Protection Section are assisting the Attorney General in this matter.