PHILADELPHIA, Penn — The city of Philadelphia has teamed up with the anti-gun group Giffords to sue JSD Supply and Polymer80, claiming that the companies are violating nuisance laws.
The lawsuit comes less than a week after a federal judge in Texas vacated the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule banning the sale of unfinished frames, which the city of Philadelphia calls “ghost guns.” The judge’s decision was made after JSD Supply filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the final rule. The company has not sold any 80% firearms kit since the regulation was enacted on August 24, 2022.
According to Philadelphia officials, Giffords, the anti-gun group started by Gabby Giffords, determined the target of the lawsuit and worked closely with the city to file. This effort highlights a disturbing trend of radical anti-gun groups using taxpayer money to sue legitimate American businesses in hopes of financially ruining the companies.
The lawsuit claims that the companies sold firearms that lacked serial numbers and did not run background checks on buyers. Before August 24, 2022, unfinished frames and receivers could be sold without serial numbers and were not considered firearms. JSD Supply discontinued selling kits after the ATF’s rule effective date. However, the Pennsylvania-based business would sue, and a federal judge agreed with them, completely knocking down the ATF’s rule-making that changed the definition of a firearm.
When JSD Supply sold 80% firearms kits, the products were considered gun parts, not firearms. Thanks to the Texas judge’s ruling, the kits are once again just parts. The lawsuit ignores the judge’s ruling and the effective date of the now-dead rule. They insist that the companies broke state and federal law.
Dr. Val Finnell, Chair of the Keystone Victory Fund, pointed out the misinformation that was put out by Giffords and Philly Mayor Jim Kenney during a Wednesday press conference. The Keystone Victory Fund is a pro-Second Amendment super PAC in Pennsylvania.
“The Philadelphia press conference announcing the lawsuit against P80 and JSD Supply was nothing more than a litany of lies and misinformation,” Dr. Finnell told AmmoLand News. “It is perfectly legal to build your own firearm, and there is nothing in Pennsylvania law that prohibits you from doing so. This suit is pure legal terrorism since it blatantly attempts to sue a legitimate business out of existence. It’s also a deliberate attack against the Second Amendment right of all citizens to build their own firearms, a right we have had since before the founding of our country.”
The press conference was held one day after a mass shooting where a cross-dressing Back Lives Matter (BLM) supporter shot and killed five people. City officials said that the press conference was not related to the shooting when asked, but many think it was a distraction technique after the mayor called for lawsuits to try to put gun shops and shows out of business.
Some think the City of Brotherly Love is using so-called “ghost guns” as a scapegoat for the city’s skyrocketing crime rate. One of these people is Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America (GOA) Erich Pratt. GOA has successfully sued Philadelphia multiple times, including striking down the city’s regulation on privately manufactured firearms (PMF).
“Rather than blame their own failed policies for high crime rates, Philadelphia’s leaders are instead trying to blame homemade guns for the rise in crime,” Pratt told AmmoLand News. “However, the actual statistics don’t support this frivolous waste of taxpayer dollars.”
“According to the Department of Justice, privately made firearms were found at 692 homicide or attempted homicide crime scenes over a six-year period,” Pratt Continued. “That means that, at worst, out of more than 16,000 yearly murders, homemade guns are used in around 115 homicides per year. That’s far fewer murders than many common items which are easily found around one’s house — such as knives (1,476), hammers or blunt objects (397), or fists and feet (600).”
The city is seeking an injunction preventing the companies from selling kits to residents of the city and is also seeking monetary damages from the businesses.
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About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
