NEW YORK -- State Attorney General Letitia James announced today that she has ordered 16 websites to immediately stop selling “ghost guns” - kits of firearms components that allow buyers to assembly of assault weapons.

The possession, manufacture and sale of assault weapons is illegal in New York, but these companies have been providing the means to violate the state’s assault weapons ban, James said in an news release.

“These companies sell nearly complete, untraceable ‘ghost guns’ that allow individuals to create assault weapons, which are illegal in New York and endanger everyone in our state,” James said on Twitter this morning. “We won’t allow them to be built here.”

James said the companies often specifically advertise their products as a way to evade law enforcement with phrases like, “if they don’t know you have it, they can’t take it."

The 16 companies targeted with “cease and desist” letters are all offering the sale of partially milled, or machined, lower receivers and shipping them to New York residents for assembly into illegal assault weapons. Composed of either metal or plastic, the lower receiver holds the upper, lower and rear portions of the firearm together and is responsible for the actual “firing” of the bullet.

Aside from a fully assembled firearm, the lower receiver is the only piece that is independently considered a firearm and is thus subject to federal regulation. However, an incomplete lower receiver — lacking certain holes, slots or cavities — is not considered a firearm, James said.

These companies have been marketing their lower receivers as “80%” complete, in order to evade federal regulations, she said.

Purchasers on these websites must only make a few small changes with a common drill press to transform an unfinished receiver into a fully operational one. Once milled, the receiver may be readily assembled into an illegal assault weapon, typically unregistered and not branded with a serial number.

These companies call their products “ghost guns” because they are virtually untraceable. They do not require that the buyer hold a federal firearms license or submit to a background check.

Many of these sellers also offer for sale specialized jigs — or stencil-like precision tools that help guide a drill press — that are specifically designed to aid the milling process for a lower receiver.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said earlier this month that these “ghost guns” are hitting Syracuse streets.

There are a dozen ‘ghost guns’ at the center of cases pending right now in Onondaga County courts, Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick argued that, regardless of one’s views of the Second Amendment, law enforcement needed to be equipped to crack down on the distribution of these gun kits over the internet.

In James’ “cease and desist” letter, she argues that these sellers are unlawfully promoting the possession of illegal weapons and do not adequately warn consumers that manufacturing or assembling an assault weapon in New York state is illegal, which could subject them to disgorgement, restitution and penalties of up to $5,000 for each violation.

Sarah Moses Buckshot writes about breaking news in Central New York. Have a question or news tip? Contact her anytime: sbuckshot@syracuse.com | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2298.

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