State files lawsuit against Morris County gun shop, two Pa. gun companies
The state Attorney General filed lawsuits against a New Jersey gun dealer and two Pennsylvania gun companies due to “unlawful and unreasonable actions.”
Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed the complaints through the New Jersey Statewide Affirmative Firearms Enforcement Office against FSS Armory, Patriot Enterprises Worldwide LLC, a gun show company known as Eagle Shows and Not An LLC known as JSD Supply, a ghost gun company.
SAFE was created as a way for the state to go after the gun industry in court for the “violations of the law that harm the health and safety of New Jersey residents,” according to a statement from the Attorney General’s Office.
“New Jersey’s residents demand and deserve to live free from fear of gun violence, and that requires we do everything possible to get illegal guns off our streets and out of our communities,” Platkin said.
FSS Armory, based in Pine Brook, is accused of storing stacks of guns within reach of a ground-floor window, which the state said was “unlawful and reckless.”
Platkin said the state’s actions make it clear that “gun traffickers and their enablers will be held accountable.”
“Gun dealers and the firearms industry must abide by our laws or face the consequences,” Platkin said.
In the case of FSS Armory, located in Morris County, the business stored stacks of guns within easy reach of a ground-floor window, even showcasing their location on its website. This decision was both unlawful and reckless, Platkin said.
Platkin said FSS Armory broke the law by failing to properly store the guns, which are required to be secured overnight and not near a window or anywhere that can be seen from the outside.
Eagle Shows and JSD Supply have “targeted the sale of ghost gun products” to state residents such as kits, frames and other parts and does not do background checks, the release said.
Ghost guns, or unserialized and untraceable firearms, are not legal in New Jersey. The attorney general said JDS Supply and others sell ghost gun products at gun shows from Eagle Shows just over the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border and shows are continually advertised in New Jersey.
Platkin said the company’s website states the handgun that can be built from their kits “looks, feels and operates just like any other gun” but doesn’t require a background check
“New Jersey’s residents demand and deserve to live free from fear of gun violence, and that requires we do everything possible to get illegal guns off our streets and out of our communities.” Matthew Platkin Attorney general
or serial number.
“This lack of point-of-sale controls allows felons and others who cannot legally possess or purchase a gun to easily acquire lethal weapons,” Platkin said. “New Jersey State Police has arrested numerous New Jerseyans returning from Eagle Shows with illegal products.”
Ravi Ramanathan, the director of SAFE, said “irresponsible behavior by the gun industry can have dire consequences for the public.”
“The unlawful and unreasonable actions of FSS Armory, JSD Supply, and Eagle Shows have caused significant harms to our communities, and they must be held accountable,” Ramanathan said.
The state is seeking injunctive relief and monetary and punitive damages, which the total amount will be determined at trial, and is asking FSS Armony, JSD Supply and Eagle Shows to pay accrued and future costs that New Jersey and others would sustain “as a result of the public nuisances” they have created.