New York AG warns 28 gun dealers to stop selling parts for 'ghost' guns

New York Attorney General Letitia James sent cease-and-desist letters to 28 firearms sellers across the state Wednesday, including six on Long Island, warning those that are illegally selling or advertising the parts needed to build untraceable ghost guns.

Ghost guns are built from unfinished frames and receivers that do not have a serial number and can be easily assembled at home using basic tools to make a fully functioning, and largely untraceable, firearm.

The attorney general's investigation found that more than two dozen firearms sellers advertised or offered to sell unfinished receivers, frames, and kits online or at gun shows, in violation of state law. The attorney general's office declined to identify the businesses or provide a public explanation of why.

“Ghost guns are fueling the flames of the gun violence epidemic, and we will not sit idly as they proliferate in our streets and devastate communities,” James said on Wednesday, the first day of Gun Violence Awareness Month. “Across the nation, too many lives are being lost because of these untraceable and unregistered weapons that anyone can get their hands on without a background check. We are not going to wait for another tragedy."

The 28 businesses, officials said, advertised the parts on their websites, with some allowing consumers to purchase the pieces online and others telling consumers to call and ask for the price.

In the letters, James warned of legal consequences, including up to 4 years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines for each offense, if the businesses do not comply.

"For too long, ghost guns have been haunting our streets and taking lives," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a news release. "I have been warning about these dangerous gun kits for years, and we must take more aggressive action now to stop them from further proliferating."

A pair of bills signed into law last year prohibits the sale and possession of ghost guns. 

The Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act — named after a former Dix Hills resident and teacher who saved dozens of lives, but lost his own, in a 2018 mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida — prohibits the possession and sale of the frames or receivers by anyone other than a licensed gunsmith or firearms dealer.

State Sen. Anna M. Kaplan (D-North Hills), the bill's lead sponsor, said "too many people were exploiting a loophole in our gun laws and getting their hands on dangerous, untraceable ghost guns without ever going through a background check."

A second measure requires New York gunsmiths to serialize and register any firearms they manufacture or assemble, including those made from unfinished parts.

Unfinished receivers hold the upper, lower, and rear portions of a semi-automatic rifle together while an unfinished frame can be used to build into an untraceable handgun, officials said.

In the cease-and-desist letters, James ordered the 28 businesses to immediately stop selling the prohibited parts, including kits that contained unfinished frames and the tools needed to put a finished gun together at home. Several businesses, officials said, also advertised "blank serialization plates,” which makes the firearms untraceable.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.