Polymer80 Banned From Selling Ghost Guns in Maryland After $1.2 Million Settlement

A ghost gun is displayed before the start of an event about violence involving firearms, in the Rose Garden of the White House, on April 11, 2022. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The city of Baltimore has settled a lawsuit filed against ghost gun manufacturer Polymer80, Inc. arguing that its firearms fueled gun violence in the city, officials announced on Feb. 21.

So-called ghost guns are partially completed frames and kits that can be purchased and assembled into functional firearms.

As part of the settlement, Polymer80—the leading manufacturer of ghost gun kits in the United States—will pay the city $1.2 million in damages, officials said.

The gunmaker is also prevented from advertising in Maryland and from selling ghost guns to Maryland residents. It must also ban its dealers in nearby states from selling ghost guns to Maryland residents.

The manufacturer must cease all customer support in Maryland and provide quarterly reports to the city documenting all sales of ghost guns in neighboring states.

Philip Bangle, senior litigation counsel at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, called the settlement a “victory” for Baltimore and “the fight for gun industry accountability.” 

“Polymer80 fueled gun violence in the city by selling ghost guns to subvert lifesaving Brady Background Checks. A growing number of Americans are pushing back and seeking to eradicate these unserialized, untraceable firearms from flooding our communities,” Mr. Bangle said.

He added that the settlement will stanch the flow of weapons and force the company to contribute to “healing” the city of the “injuries and trauma” its products inflicted.

The city of Baltimore and Mayor Brandon Scott sued Nevada-based Polymer80 in June 2022 in partnership with the Brady Center.

In their lawsuit, officials said the manufacturer accounted for 91 percent of all “ghost guns” recovered by police in Baltimore from January 2020 to April 2022 and that before 2018, city police had “never recovered a ghost gun.”

City Police Recovering More Ghost Guns

Gun control groups have been trying to ban or regulate homemade guns for years, arguing that they pose a threat to the public because they don’t have serial numbers and therefore cannot be tracked by law enforcement officials.

Gun rights groups argue that a ban on these guns would amount to a violation of their constitutional rights.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, “firearms may be lawfully made by persons who do not hold a manufacturer’s license under the GCA [Gun Control Act of 1968] provided they are not for sale or distribution and the maker is not prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms.”

Baltimore, in its lawsuit, said city police recovered about 324 ghost guns in 2021, which amounted to 14 percent of all firearms recovered.

As of May 2022, roughly a month before the lawsuit was filed, law enforcement officials had recovered more than 187 ghost guns, nearly double the amount recovered in 2021 for the same period, according to the lawsuit.

Baltimore accused Polymer80 of intentionally undermining various state and federal firearms laws by designing, manufacturing, selling, and providing ghost gun kits and parts to buyers without requiring them to undergo background checks.

Officials further alleged that Polymer80’s primary markets consist of “people who want to evade law enforcement or who cannot obtain a gun from a federal firearms licensee, including underage buyers, buyers with criminal convictions, and gun traffickers.”

The lawsuit sought to hold Polymer80 accountable for the “harm it has caused in Baltimore” and stop the sale of ghost gun parts in the city. Officials also asked the court to award compensatory damages for “policing costs to the City of Baltimore and for the injuries and trauma inflicted on the city.”

The city filed the lawsuit around the same time that Maryland’s new gun law banning people from selling, offering to sell, or transferring ghost guns came into effect.

That law also banned individuals from selling firearms that aren’t legally licensed.

President Joe Biden holds up a ghost gun kit during an event at the White House on April 11, 2022. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

‘Epidemic of Gun Violence’

In a separate statement announcing the settlement, Mr. Scott’s office said ghost guns “continue to be a prevalent source of gun violence in Baltimore City.”

In 2023, the Baltimore Police Department seized 462 ghost guns, according to his office. Already in 2024, city police have seized 43 ghost guns, an increase of 30 percent compared with this time last year.

“Nine out of 10 homicides in Baltimore City are committed with guns,” Mr. Scott, a Democrat, said. “As I have promised, the city is using every tool at its disposal to address the epidemic of gun violence we face, and our comprehensive approach is finally seeing success in driving down violence. 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.”

He added that the settlement sends a statement about the “harmful impact of these ghost guns” and is a “critical victory for the effort to confront gun violence in our communities.”

Polymer80 has been involved in similar litigation in other cities, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington, in recent years.

The manufacturer currently states on its website that it “designs and develops innovative firearms and after-market accessories that provide ways” for its customers to “participate in the build process, while expressing their right to bear arms.”

“Please be advised that different states, localities, and jurisdictions have different laws regarding the types of products sold by Polymer80, and such products may be unlawful in certain places,” the website states.

“By using this website, or using or purchasing a Polymer80 product, you affirm that you have verified that you may possess, purchase, and use Polymer80 products under all applicable federal, state, and local laws.”

The Epoch Times contacted Polymer80 for comment but received none by press time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.