A Connecticut judge brushed off an attempt by the state to fine a Florida firearms manufacturer nearly $7.7 million for operating a website.
Democratic Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced he was suing four companies, including Indie Guns, an Orlando, Florida-based firearms manufacturer, over the sale of so-called “ghost guns.” Judge Daniel J. Klau wrote in a 51-page opinion that while the state had proven the company had sold at least one “80% receiver” (an unfinished receiver that can be completed at home) to someone in Connecticut, its demand for a $5,000 fine for each day the company’s site was active did not stand up to scrutiny.
“The attorney general has the legal authority to sue foreign companies for violating [the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA)] violations if they violate a criminal statute by, as in this case, selling, delivering or otherwise transferring illegal gun parts to Connecticut residents,” Klau wrote, but he observed that Indie Guns’ actions were legal in Florida and the company wasn’t prohibited from advertising in Connecticut.
Klau did state that he would have fined Indie Guns $5,000 for selling the part to an investigator, but that the state instead chose to pursue the massive fine over the website. Klau also noted the manufacturer’s Instagram page (which is no longer up) mocked Tong, with one post taunting him with a statement directed at “[government] anti-gun ass clowns” about “untracable unregistered unserialized Ghost Gunners” and that Tong and others couldn’t “do shit about it”
“We are reviewing the decision and considering all options at this time,” a spokeswoman for Tong’s office told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Indie Guns did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
The term “ghost guns” is a euphemism that targets firearms made by people for their personal use – often involving the use of partially completed receivers or computer code for 3D printers. While a federal firearms license is required to manufacture firearms as a business, according to 18 USC 922, federal law does allow for private citizens to make their own firearms for personal use.
A video on the Indie Guns YouTube channel featured a clip from Tong’s 2023 press conference announcing the lawsuit, where Tong complained about the lack of a disclaimer that sales of unfinished firearms receivers to Connecticut residents was illegal.
(DCNF)
