New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin has filed two civil complaints against members of the firearms industry. Platkin, who’s been a member of Governor Phil Murphy’s team in one capacity or another since its inception, is executing a law that was enacted maliciously to put the squeeze on firearm-related businesses.
New Jersey’s Statewide Affirmative Firearms Enforcement Office enforces the 2022 firearms public nuisance law and acts as a work-around for the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. The 2022 law allows the Attorney General to go after firearm companies in civil suits for breaking New Jersey’s law, even if they’re outside of said jurisdiction.
The companies named in the complaints are FSS Armory from New Jersey Patriot Enterprises Worldwide LLC (does business as Eagle Shows), and Not An LLC (does business as JSD Supply) from Pennsylvania.
The Attorney General alleges that FSS Armory was reckless in how they allegedly stored their firearms. A theft that occurred, as stated in Platkin’s release, was essentially being blamed on FSS.
The company’s failures put New Jersey residents, as well as those in neighboring states, in danger by allowing the weapons to be trafficked and placed in the hands of criminals and others not legally permitted to own a firearm.
The complaint against FSS Armory states:
FSS Armory, a state-licensed gun dealer, stored stacks of guns within easy reach of a ground-floor window adjacent to its sales floor and glass-doored entrance. It did not secure either the window or the guns. FSS Armory showcased these unlawful and reckless practices, posting images of the unsecured weapons and window to the homepage of its website and to the store’s Google Maps business listing….
After searching for “gun stores in nj” on their cell phone, a group of individuals found FSS Armory, drove there, broke the glass window, reached through, and stole twenty guns. The burglars promptly trafficked the guns. Some have since been since recovered in criminal investigations. Others have been used in crimes or recovered at active crime scenes. Most remain unaccounted for.
In the complaint against Eagle Shows and JSD Supply, Platikin alleges that these companies “have targeted the sale of ghost gun products to New Jersey residents.” Platkin is suing the companies for conducting lawful business in a completely different state, Pennsylvania.
The Attorney General brings this action to stop and remedy Defendants’ unlawful sale to New Jersey residents of products designed to create unserialized, untraceable firearms— commonly known as “Ghost Guns.” defendants, who know full well that Ghost Guns are illegal in New Jersey, deliberately sell their products at gun shows just across the New Jersey— Pennsylvania border. They do so to make Ghost Guns readily accessible to New Jersey residents—even though such weapons have been illegal in New Jersey for years.
Neither complaint filed against these companies was authored by Attorney General Platkin. The signatory attorney is listed as Assistant Attorney General David Leit.
In the case of FSS, Platikin is punishing a victim of a crime, and in the other complaint, he’s punishing a company for lawfully conducting business outside of his own jurisdiction. “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 in a statement. “[These] action[s] should make New Jersey’s position clear: Gun traffickers and their enablers will be held accountable when their actions place our residents in danger. Gun dealers and the firearms industry must abide by our laws or face the consequences.”
There was no mention of Platkin’s office referring to those who participated in the theft as “gun traffickers,” nor were there any known efforts to go after actual criminals who participated in criminal activity utilizing firearms that were self-made. In these bold steps, Platkin is not going after the real criminals who commit crimes but rather law-abiding companies.
The Director of SAFE, Ravi Ramanathan, said in a statement, “The unlawful and unreasonable actions of FSS Armory, JSD Supply, and Eagle Shows have caused significant harm to our communities, and they must be held accountable.” If the actions of the listed companies were “unlawful,” then where are the criminal complaints? “Unreasonable actions” amount to what in a court of law?
The State of New Jersey, under Governor Phil Murphy’s regime, has suffered irreparable damages from unlawful and unreasonable laws and policies. The execution of the firearms public nuisance law is just a way for the Garden State to ring up legal bills for law-abiding members of the firearms industry.
How is this going to shake out in the long run? It’s hard to tell. We’ll be watching closely what comes of these civil complaints. New Jersey might be barking up the wrong tree, and considering the abject failure of Platkin’s office in defending other unconstitutional laws, they may have bitten off more than they can chew. We’ll be reporting back with any updates.
About John Petrolino
John Petrolino is a US Merchant Marine Officer, writer, author of Decoding Firearms: An Easy to Read Guide on General Gun Safety & Use and NRA certified pistol, rifle, and shotgun instructor living under and working to change New Jersey’s draconian and unconstitutional gun laws. You can find him on the web at www.johnpetrolino.com on twitter at @johnpetrolino, facebook at @thepenpatriot and on instagram @jpetrolinoiii .
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