The New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit in June 2022 against ten national gun distributors that allegedly unlawfully sold tens of thousands of unfinished frames and receivers, violating several laws by selling weapons to felons and others without a background check.
The plaintiff asserted that these businesses sell these unfinished firearms with the understanding that their customers will convert them into working weapons and have even offered instructions on how to do so. They routinely sell their products inside a “jig,” a plastic structure that guides the user’s tools through the simple steps required to finish the frame. By one of the defendants’ own admission, the jigs “make it ridiculously easy for a non-machinist to finish their [handgun frame] in under 1 hour with no drill press required.” This process is designed to work around federal gun serialization, recordkeeping, and background check requirements.
This case is still being adjudicated, but the Court gave an Order in March 2023 preventing the defendant from selling those types of weapons in the meantime.
The plaintiff asserted that these businesses sell these unfinished firearms with the understanding that their customers will convert them into working weapons and have even offered instructions on how to do so. They routinely sell their products inside a “jig,” a plastic structure that guides the user’s tools through the simple steps required to finish the frame. By one of the defendants’ own admission, the jigs “make it ridiculously easy for a non-machinist to finish their [handgun frame] in under 1 hour with no drill press required.” This process is designed to work around federal gun serialization, recordkeeping, and background check requirements.
This case is still being adjudicated, but the Court gave an Order in March 2023 stating that the defendants 'are hereby RESTRAINED AND ENJOINED from Selling, delivering, or otherwise disposing of any “unfinished frames or receivers” as defined below to recipients in New York State.'
It rejected the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction as moot.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
This case fits within a broader trend of lawsuits against gun distributors and manufacturers in an effort to regulate ghost guns (unserialized firearms that are difficult to trace due to missing identification marks). These firearms are typically built from so-called “buy, build, shoot” kits or semifinished parts that can be legally purchased without any background checks or registration. The firearms kits can be easily assembled at home, bypassing traditional gun sales regulations. The lack of a serial number makes it difficult to trace these weapons, posing challenges for law enforcement agencies in investigating crimes involving ghost guns.