SACRAMENTO, CALIF. –-(Ammoland.com)- Brady United has filed a pair of wrongful death suits against Ghost Gunner Inc. in California and 12 other gun part manufacturers.
The two suits stem from a shooting that took place 130 miles north of Sacramento in November 2017. The killer lost his gun rights after the courts ordered him to surrender his guns as part of a restraining order. The killer manufactured a homemade rifle and then killed his wife and four others.
Brady United approached the victims’ families and convinced them to file lawsuits against the companies that sold the killer the gun parts used in his killing spree. The anti-gun group accuses 13 defendants of negligence, public nuisance, and violation of business codes. These lawsuits are the first of their kind against gun parts manufacturers in the United States.
Homemade firearms have always been legal in the Country and have a long history with firearms owners and advocates.
In recent years anti-gun advocates have given these guns the name “ghost guns” and insinuate they are a new product. These anti-gun groups point out the makers are not required to include a serial number, and people can make the guns without going through a background check.
Gun rights advocates point to Americans’ long history of making their own firearms when defending the people’s right to bear arms. They also point out that most guns used in crimes are obtained illegally and are not homemade. It is also easier and cheaper to buy a gun illegally than to spend $3000 on a Ghost Gunner CNC machine. They also point out that the courts already stripped the killer’s gun rights, and it was illegal for him to have the rifle he used in the killings.
Brady’s chief Jonathan Lowy believes that sellers of gun parts target those who cannot legally own guns. He ignores the 1000s of hobbyist and firearms enthusiast that build their own firearms every day using these parts.
“There is an ample and thriving gun market in this Country in which law-abiding citizens can get guns thru proper channels. This is an industry that appears aimed at supplying people who can’t legally have guns,” Lowy said Monday.
“Defendants knew when they entered this business that they would foreseeably be supplying criminals, killers, and others whose possession of firearms pose an unacceptably high threat of injury or death to others,” the California court filings say. Their marketing materials “intentionally targeted prohibited persons and other dangerous individuals like Neal. Such tactics and practices were unfair, immoral, unethical, oppressive, and unscrupulous.”
Cody Wilson, the director of Ghost Gunner Inc., thinks that this is an attempt by Brady United to try oppressing people’s rights through the court system. Brady United has a history of filing lawsuits that have little chance of succeeding to make pro-gun companies spend thousands of dollars defending themselves in court. They have used the same tactic multiple times against Armslist.
“It’s a last-minute Hail Mary that misstates the law in California,” Wilson told AmmoLand. “Brady will have more luck colluding with the ATF in 2021.”
In September, California Attorney General and Biden’s pick for Health and Human Services Secretary, Xavier Becerra, filed a lawsuit to demand the ATF to change its policy on 80% lower receiver, even though 80% lower receivers have never been considered firearms in the past. Becerra is trying to get a federal judge to change the definition of the part because they “violate the common definition of a firearm.”
Brady United didn’t respond to the AmmoLand News request for comment.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
In other news today a social justice group in Texas has filed suit against Stihl Inc for making chainsaws used in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Film at 11………………..
nr – I never saw that abomination of a movie (either version) so I’m not sure of the brand, are you sure it wasn’t a Husqvarna? 🙂
Seriously, the anti gun and anti freedom crowd are that disingenuous that they would use a fictional movie as ‘grounds’ to prohibit legal (and useful) products.
NEXT UP: Suing the smelters of raw steel and raw aluminum for allowing people prohibited from having firearms to obtain the precursors to assault weapons.
Just look at the kids who have been suspended for making “finger guns”.
More crazy ideas being attempted to stop legal business from operating, the California lawsuit is just another reason we don’t need them in charge in D.C. in any position.
They have screwed up the state of California, now they want to do the same with the rest of the country because one person broke the law in California and made a gun from legal sources, not the manufacturers fault the guy used it to kill someone.
Gun control has never had anything to do with preventing crime.
JSNMGC . . . You hit that nail right on the head!!!
Uncle – “stop legal businesses” – you nailed it right there. There was nothing legal about a prohibited person assembling parts into a usable firearm ad using it to commit murder. Yet these anti-gunners are trying again to penalize lawful manufacturers and end users due to what a
CRIMINAL did.
Stanley has just been sued for manufacturing devices that are used to cave in peoples skulls. The original purpose was to hammer nails into wood, but some nefarious criminals have been using them for other deadly means and obviously Stanley is at fault because they KNOW that these “hammers” are being used for criminal mischief. Stay tuned as the jurors award the latest victims family millions for this.
Communist Play Book In Action Here…
Anti-Constitutionalist’s=Anti-Americans=Enemies of the United States…
Nothing Less…
Brady should be sued for their overt attack on our constitutional rights. Brady’s abuse of litigation to serve their agenda and disarm law abiding citizens is unlawful and unconstitutional. This makes them an enemy to the US Constitution.
Maybe the Brady Bunch should sue Walmart for selling spoons which obviously are the cause for making people fat!!
Without merit. If the criminal used a kitchen steak knife, rolling pin or a baseball bat, the person who killed is responsible not any company.
Since hands and feet kill more than twice as many people as long guns it logically follows that there must be a lot of OB-GYNs who need to be sued for not seeing into the future and cutting off the hands and feet of the infants destined to murder.
The anti-gun people really need a new hobby. None of their arguments
hold water. Don’t regulate guns, regulate mental illness. Get rid of insanity pleas, and institutionalize these crazies who are out on the streets. Most criminals are mentally ill to begin with.
It’s easy to pass gun laws (that don’t address the problem).
It’s hard to actually address the underlying problem driving a large percentage of violent street crime. Who was the last politician you have heard saying we need to “do something” about the dysfunctional micro-culture in high crime neighborhoods?
One of Biden’s campaign promises was to sign a repeal of the the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. All it is going to take is a few Republican Senators to vote for the repeal and Biden will get his wish.
That will be the end of numerous small firearm companies and maybe some of the larger ones as well.
i don’t know if they will have the votes to do that, especially with the number of new reps in the house and that there are a couple of dems who are pro-Second Amendment. we need to talk with people to write letters to their reps in congress if it does come up and let them know their jobs are on the line if they support more restrictions on our civil rights.
I agree with contacting representatives, even better if it can be done in groups.
I’m not confident one way or the other. There are many anti-gun groups and women groups who are committed to getting the PLCAA repealed. They are much more vocal than the average Republican voter.
All this talk about politicians and votes. The 2nd Amendment has been the law of the land since 1791. Unchanged in verse and meaning. Along with the rest of our Bill Of Rights. These politicians were never enumerated with the powers folks seem to give them. Nobody can erase our 2nd Amendment unless and until the last citizen hands in their guns, and willingly submits to illegal legislation. Remember Reagan? “Just Say No”? Same asshat politician that signed off on FOPA? Well, he had no right to do that either. Just say no when some “public servant” comes along and… Read more »
Just Say No More Gun Control. Makes sense to me. Gun control is only possible because government employees with guns enforce it. There are numerous LEOs and Retired LEOs who are active on this board, but they have not been very vocal about indicating they will not enforce the laws. Many on this board have military experience and believe that it is the veterans who will be the ones to stand up to [someone]. Who do they is going to enforce these laws that are on the way – Joe, Kamala, Chuck, Nancy, and Robert Francis? No – it will… Read more »
IF —- This LUDRICRIS ILL CONSCEIVED FALACIOUS law-suit is not dismissed with PREGIDICE, then ALL manufactures will henceforth be liable for ALL incidences of mangling or killing of individuals by accidental or intentional use by all manufactured goods and services!!!!
Laddy – that would be all manufacturers of any/all consumer goods that a criminal uses to further their criminal acts.
A sword by itself does not slay; it is merely the weapon used by the slayer. – Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Roman Stoic philosopher, 4 B.C. – A.D. 65 In 1958. the late Col Jeff Cooper, handgun expert and founder of Gunsite Academy, stated, “Killing is a matter of will, not weapons. You cannot control the act itself by passing laws about the means employed.” A politician with a law never stops a bad guy with a gun. He only controls the good guys which is his true agenda. The bad guy with a gun…..or the mentally deficient guy with a gun……or… Read more »
There is one other explanation. Much of the Democrats agenda is aimed at aiding the criminal. Elimination of bail, lack of prosecution, light or suspended sentences, open borders, disarming of the law abiding, etc. all benefit the criminal element. The logical explanation is kickbacks; Democrats must be getting a criminal tithe for their policies.
Cloward-Piven offer a more likely scenario. A Constitutional Republic with an economy based on a capitalistic free market (read: no price controls for ammo) has been too successful for Totalitarians to rally the oppressed and implement whatever brand of Totalitarianism they are peddling. The form of government we have inherited is so successful, we have millions of people waiting to get into the U.S. Therefore, the current system must be overloaded and brought down so they can say “see – it didn’t work.” Everything Totalitarians do is meant to overload the system and bring it down: COVID-19: destroy the economy… Read more »
Next they’ll want to say a block of Aluminum is a firearm.
www dot 80percentarms dot com/products/0-billet-ar-15-lower-receiver/
All you need to complete it is a CNC.
At least one state has already said as much.
But it doesn’t really matter what “they” say as long as no one agrees to enforce those obviously bad laws.
Is Brady going to re-educate people who could build a firearm from scratch?
There has to be multiple laws from frivolous lawsuits, to trying to violate the Constitution for countersuitss against Brady and not the families being exploited. Make Brady bleed money.
Prior to the PLCAA, the president’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, filed a massive lawsuit against 24 firearm manufacturing companies. What did those companies do wrong in Rudy’s mind? Primarily, they made too many firearms. His view was New Yorkers were killing each other because firearm companies were making too many firearms. That’s how Totalitarians think.
When he later ran for president, he claimed he was pro-2nd Amendment. Well that didn’t pan-out.
There’s a long history of Republicans advocating for and enacting legislation to violate constitutional rights while claiming to be defenders of the same. Unfortunately, there’s also a long history of voters being fooled by these Republicans.
I’ll say.
If Creepy Joe the Pedo and Kumswallow make it into The White House, we will be truly Screwed! Not just gun owners but everybody! Welcome to Amerika!
P**S on Brady and all of their Communist Minions! It is groups like Brady, et al, that refuse to accept the U.S. Constitution as the law of the land that are creating all of the problems in America! The Communist Left in America has been trying diligently to completely disarm every American citizen for decades now so that they can impose their dictatorship in the United States without fear of an armed resistance! They are moving toward an armed Civil War and they may get their wish! This whole Communist business is moving close to the tipping point wherein American… Read more »
Brady should be sued….for suppressing constitutional freedoms and rights