Chicago and 3 other cities sue to stop spread of ghost guns

NEW YORK (AP) — Chicago and three other cities sued the federal government Wednesday to stop the proliferation of what are advertised as easy-to-assemble guns that require no serial numbers or background checks.

The lawsuit in Manhattan federal court asked a judge to stop the government from letting gun parts that can easily be converted to functioning weapons be distributed without restrictions.

The lawsuit was brought against the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives cities of Chicago; Syracuse, New York; Columbia, South Carolina; and San Jose, California — along with the Everytown for Gun Safety group.

Messages seeking comment were sent to the Justice Department and ATF.

The lawsuit alleged that sales of the so-called ghost guns have grown during the pandemic. The weapons that contain no registration numbers that could be used to trace them and require no background checks increasingly have shown up at crime scenes, government officials say.

“It’s simple – individuals with dangerous histories shouldn’t be able to order lethal weapons on the internet with a few quick clicks," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a release.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said ghost guns have rapidly become the “weapon of choice for traffickers, abusers, and extremists."

In January, attorneys general in 20 states and the District of Columbia sued the government in Seattle federal court over another form of a ghost gun as they sought to strike down a federal regulation that could allow blueprints for making guns on 3D printers to be posted on the internet.