Press Releases

12/12/2024

Attorney General Tong Announces New Partnership to Combat Gun Violence Through Civil Enforcement of State Laws

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong announced today that 16 attorneys general have formed a multistate coalition to hold irresponsible firearms industry members accountable for their devastating impact on gun violence.

This multistate coalition, the first of its kind, aims to reduce gun violence through the coordinated enforcement of state civil liability and consumer protection laws, among other authority, to promote public safety and saving lives.

“Connecticut has some of the strongest gun violence prevention laws in the nation and our state and local police are an effective and aggressive force in keeping our communities safe. Today, we are launching a groundbreaking multistate campaign to step up our enforcement and harness the power of our civil statutes to hold bad actors in the firearms industry accountable for dangerous misconduct. I’m committed to using every ounce of my authority to keep Connecticut families safe,” said Attorney General Tong.

“Together with my fellow Attorneys General, I will fight to protect our state residents from the wanton disregard for human life caused by bad actors in the firearms industry, which contribute to rising gun violence,” said New Jersey Attorney General Platkin, whose office is leading the coalition. “This is not about curtailing lawful gun ownership. This is about protecting our communities from irresponsible business practices that contribute to unsafe gun proliferation, the kind that leads to mass shootings in our churches, synagogues, schools, shopping malls, concerts, and supermarkets. These lawsuits are part of our overall effort to treat gun violence like the public health crisis that it is—which has resulted in the lowest level of gun violence ever recorded in New Jersey. As Attorneys General, this is what we do: we hold bad actors accountable when they violate our laws in ways that make our residents less safe. The firearm industry is no exception, period.”

In the first action of the coalition, Attorney General Platkin and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed lawsuits in their respective state courts against gunmaker Glock, for violations of their respective State laws. The lawsuits allege that Glock handguns can easily be configured to fire automatically as illegal machine guns by affixing an inexpensive add-on component commonly known as a “Glock switch.”

The States joining the coalition today all share the same goal of holding members of the firearms industry—including manufacturers, distributors, and sellers—accountable when their business practices result in unlawful sales, gun trafficking, and other outcomes that put lives at risk.

Many of the offices joining the multistate coalition have pursued civil enforcement in their jurisdictions under their respective state law authorities:

• In 2023, Connecticut sued four out-of-state firearm dealers for selling and advertising illegal, untraceable ghost gun parts violation of Connecticut’s 2019 ban. Connecticut has since reached civil settlements with three of the four dealers recovering penalties totaling $885,000. Two of the dealers have ceased operations and a third has committed to putting in place strong controls and reporting to ensure ongoing compliance with Connecticut law.

• In New Jersey, the Statewide Affirmative Firearms Enforcement Office has sued gun stores for repeated sales to unverified buyers, a gun show operator and gun show vendor for targeting the sale of ghost gun products to state residents, and a gun store for failing to properly store its guns overnight as required by state law, which resulted in the theft of twenty weapons.

• In 2024, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and District of Columbia Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb sued three federally licensed gun dealers for illegally selling dozens of firearms to a straw purchaser who then trafficked the weapons, mainly into Washington, DC.

• In 2023, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings began investigating Cabela’s, Inc. for about a half-million rounds of ammunition that were shoplifted from its Christiana location. The probe, which was backed by a U.S. District Court judge earlier this year, is examining whether Cabela’s has violated various laws, including Delaware’s firearms industry public nuisance law, through its lax approach to this shoplifting.

• In 2022, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued a gun retailer and its owner for unlawfully selling over 3,600 large-capacity magazines. The parties entered into a consent decree in 2024, with the defendants agreeing to pay the state $3 million for violating Washington law.

• In 2021, California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined with the San Francisco District Attorney to sue three manufacturers and sellers of ghost guns kits. The parties entered into a stipulated judgment in 2024 prohibiting the defendants from manufacturing or selling ghost gun kits in California and requiring them to pay $675,000 in civil penalties.

• In 2020, the District of Columbia filed suit against Polymer80, a ghost gun manufacturer and distributor, for selling unserialized, untraceable firearms to Washington, DC residents. In 2022, the District won a landmark $4 million court judgement against the company, which was found liable for making false and misleading claims about the legality of its products.

The nation’s gun violence epidemic causes more than a massive loss of life. A Joyce Foundation report published earlier this year on state civil enforcement efforts noted that gun violence results in over $500 billion in economic losses annually in the United States.

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Twitter: @AGWilliamTong

Facebook: CT Attorney General

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov

Consumer Inquiries:

860-808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov