KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, has filed a motion in its lawsuit to overturn a decision that allows a bankrupt gun manufacturer, previously suspected of working with gun traffickers, to sell firearms under a new business venture.
The city previously joined the state of Illinois and the organization Everytown for Gun Safety on the lawsuit that asks a federal judge to overturn the decision by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to grant the business a firearms license, according to a release from the office of Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.
Jimenez Arms, Inc. went bankrupt and is now known as JA Industries. Both companies are owned by Paul Jimenez.
The new company was granted a firearms license in April 2020, 28 days after its application was submitted, according to the release.
The motion alleges that Jimenez broke federal gun laws and sold at least 32 guns to a gun trafficker, among other law violations.
It also states that ATF did not do a proper investigation into Jimenez' application for a license, which according to the release, was in "blatant disregard of concerns that ATF itself had documented about Paul Jimenez for years."
Guns sold by Jimenez Arms have previously been linked to former KCFD Capt. James Samuels who sold dozen of guns illegally in KCMO, as well as one linked to a homicide.
“As we continue our work to combat gun violence to protect the lives of Kansas Citians and Americans in every corner of our country, we must be able to rely on our federal regulators to do their due diligence before approving gun manufacturing licenses and take a firm stance against bad actors," Lucas said in the release.
