New Jersey’s attorney general sued three gun dealers Tuesday, alleging that one illegally stored firearms that were visible from outside a store and that the other two tried to sell “ghost guns.” The lawsuits are the first to be filed under a law enacted in 2022.
Attorney General Matt Platkin said he filed the lawsuits in state court to send a message to gun dealers who violate state law.
“We’re going to hold these people accountable, but they won’t be the last,” Platkin said during a press conference with the state’s director of firearms enforcement, Ravi Ramanathan. “I think others in the industry should take notice that if you violate our laws, we’re coming for you. We’re going to hold you accountable.”
The lawsuits seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and an injunction against the companies: FSS Armory of Pine Brook, New Jersey; gun show operator Eagle Shows of western Pennsylvania; and gun dealer JSD Supply, also of western Pennsylvania. The Associated Press left email messages with the companies seeking comment.
One of the lawsuits alleges that FSS Armory stored stacks of guns near a window on the ground floor of its store, an arrangement that was visible online. In January, a group of people travelled to the store, broke the window and made off with more than 20 weapons, including pistols, shotguns, rifles and a revolver, Platkin said. Most of the stolen weapons weren’t recovered, and those that were were found at crime scenes or on the black market, he said.
State law requires that firearms be secured and not kept in a window or area visible from the outside.
The other lawsuit, against Eagle Shows and JSD Supply, alleges that the companies intended to sell so-called ghost guns, which are illegal in the state, to New Jersey residents. Ghost guns are weapons without serial numbers that cannot be traced.
JSD Supply sold ghost gun products at Eagle Shows across the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border, while Eagle Shows continued to directly advertise its shows in New Jersey, according to the lawsuit. It’s unclear how many such guns have been sold to New Jersey residents, but state police have arrested numerous residents returning from out-of-state Eagle Shows with illegal products, Platkin said.
The lawsuits were the first brought by the state under a law signed by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in July 2022 that aims to hold gun dealers accountable in civil court. Asked why he didn’t bring criminal charges against the companies, Platkin would only say that civil cases also play a role in upholding the law.
New Jersey isn’t the only state to pursue gun dealers in civil court.
In October 2022, Minnesota filed a lawsuit against a gun retailer for allegedly selling firearms to straw purchasers that were ultimately used in a fatal shooting. Earlier this year, Kansas City settled a lawsuit with a dealer who allegedly ignored evidence that guns were being sold illegally.