BRADY ORANGE COUNTY

 

BRADY CELEBRATES NEVADA GOV. SISOLAK SIGNING A BAN ON GHOST GUNS INTO LAW

Washington, D.C., June 7, 2021 - Today, Brady celebrates Nevada’s newest law: AB 286, which was signed into law by Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak this afternoon after passing both chambers of the Nevada Legislature. This law will ban and prevent the further proliferation of ghost guns - firearms constructed from unfinished and unserialized frames and receivers that are often sold in kits that can be assembled into fully functioning firearms. This new law makes Nevada one of only several states with such bans, helping to stop this existential threat to public safety and keep all Nevadans safe.

Brady President Kris Brown shared:

“This is a historic day for Nevada; the state legislature and Gov. Sisolak have acted swiftly and in the best interest of all Nevadans to ban untraceable ghost guns across the state. With this law, Nevada joins other states and localities like the District of Columbia, Hawaii and New Jersey in banning the parts and kits used to assemble these untraceable weapons. Nevada’s ban will be one of the strongest ghost gun bans in the country and will regulate these weapons for what they actually are: firearms. These weapons threaten public safety and law enforcement, undermining nearly all existing gun violence prevention laws. They are an existential threat to communities across the country. Brady thanks Nevada’s legislature and Gov. Sisolak for clearly identifying that fact and acting to address it.

This new law is thanks to the sustained efforts and advocacy of activists across Nevada, including and especially Battle Born Progress. We are grateful for their leadership and to Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui, herself a survivor of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music festival in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017, for introducing and stewarding this legislation.”

About AB 286:

AB 286 would prohibit an individual from possessing, selling, transferring, or purchasing an unfinished frame or receiver, which can be easily assembled into a ghost gun. The bill would likewise ban the possession of existing ghost guns beginning in January 2022. This bill includes common-sense carve outs such as an exception for firearms importers or manufacturers and for certain types of firearms including those rendered permanently inoperable, antiques or collector’s items, such as for hobbyists or collectors.

About Ghost Guns:

Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable firearms that are often made from "ghost gun kits," that can be bought online, at gun shows or at gun stores and assembled at home. "Ghost gun kits," include all of the parts and often the equipment necessary to build these weapons at home. These kits are widely available and can be purchased by anyone, including prohibited purchasers, domestic abusers, and gun traffickers — without a background check. As these kits and guns are sold at gun shows and online every day throughout the country, they undermine all of the life-saving policies that state legislatures have fought so hard to put in place.

This is a growing concern, as:

• The ATF estimated that in just 2019, over 10,000 ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement.

• The CA Bureau of Firearms seized 512 percent more ghost guns from persons identified through the Armed Prohibited Persons System database in 2019 than in 2018.

• In January 2020, the ATF’s Los Angeles Field Division reported that over 40 percent of its cases involved ghost guns.

• In San Francisco, the number of ghost guns seized by local law enforcement jumped 600 percent between 2017 and 2019

• In Onondaga County, in New York State the number of ghost guns recovered jumped 188 percent between 2018 and 2019 and in 2020, the county was again on track to break their record for recoveries - halfway through the year, more ghost guns had been recovered than in all of 2019.

Two states, Hawaii and New Jersey, and two cities, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., have already instituted bans on ghost guns or parts and kits used to assemble these weapons, and several other states including California, Rhode Island, and Connecticut have also passed laws regulating ghost guns. Both New York state and San Francisco are considering legislation surrounding ghost guns, and the parts and kits used to assemble ghost guns as well bans.

About Brady’s First-of-its-Kind Lawsuit, McFadyen v. Ghost Gunner Inc.:

Represented by Brady and the international law firm Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe the survivors and the families of the people killed in the 2017 mass shooting in Rancho Tehama, California, recently brought forward McFadyen v. GhostGunner Inc., the nation’s first two civil lawsuits by victims of gun violence against the ghost gun industry.

Plaintiffs allege in the complaint that the defendants have chosen to engage in a business that utilizes online loopholes that enable prohibited purchasers to acquire weapons without a Brady Background Check or any interaction with a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL). In doing so, Brady alleges that the defendants have chosen to intentionally undermine federal and state gun laws by designing, marketing, and selling ghost gun kits and firearms parts, which allowed the Rancho Tehama gunman, who was barred from purchasing or possessing a firearm, to obtain two AR-15-style ghost guns. During the gunman’s shooting spree in November 2017, he killed five people and injured 18 others at eight separate crime scenes, including an elementary school.

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Brady has one powerful mission — to unite all Americans against gun violence. We work across Congress, the courts, and our communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of our namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, we have fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and we will not stop until this epidemic ends. It’s in our hands.