San Francisco settles suit with 5 out-of-state suppliers over magazine ‘repair kits’

“The only purpose of these magazines is to kill as many people as quickly as possible," said Herrera in a statement. (Photo: Michael Short/SF Chronicle)

“The only purpose of these magazines is to kill as many people as quickly as possible,” said Herrera in a previous statement about the kits. (Photo: Michael Short/SF Chronicle)

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced a settlement this week with several Internet retailers halting sales of what he says are illegal high-capacity magazines to Californians.

The city and five retailers located outside of California agreed to a settlement that institutes a 10-year injunction banning the companies from selling or advertising magazine repair kits in the state, as well as splitting $22,500 in costs incurred in the investigation by Herrera’s office.

With each company, Herrera argued their kits are nothing but disassembled magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammo and could easily be reassembled in violation of state law.

“Californians have spoken clearly. We don’t want these weapons in our communities,” Herrera said in a statement. “I have zero tolerance for gun sellers who try to skirt the law, and we will bring statewide enforcement action when needed. I’m glad we were able to get a tough, enforceable court order against these companies that were flouting the law.”

The kits were being marketed by Badger Mountain Supply, located in Washington; 7.62 Precision in Alaska; Shooters Plus, in Mississippi; LAK Supply of Wyoming; and Buymilsurp.com, located in Florida.

In each agreement, the companies are required to scrub any language from their sites or advertising asserting their kits are California-legal. Potential purchasers from the state will not have the option to select California as a billing or shipping address. Further, the companies would have to cancel any pending sales with fulfillment ending in California. Should a retailer be later found by the court to have violated the agreement, they would be liable for a civil penalty of up to $6,000.

For those who elect to remain in the business of selling kits, they are required to post a notice stating:

Under California law, it is illegal for individuals in the state to purchase large-capacity magazines, large-capacity magazine ‘repair’ or ‘rebuild’ kits, and disassembled large-capacity magazines. Under San Francisco law, it is illegal for individuals in the city to possess these items. As of July 1, 2017, it will be illegal for individuals anywhere in the State of California to possess these items. Limited exceptions may apply.

Should the state rescind their current ban on detachable magazines holding more than 10 rounds, the retailers would be green-lighted to resume sales.

As of Wednesday, Shooters Plus had pulled their website entirely while Buymilsurp and 7.62 Precision had removed their sections listing magazine rebuild kits. LAK noted on its site that the kit category was “currently being phased out” before going on to ask for assistance with their legal defense fund.

The fifth company, Badger Mountain, has a page dedicated to the suit saying, “The agreement with the City of San Francisco, in short, ends legal proceedings, and Badger Mountain Supply agreed to pay a portion of the City’s legal fees. No admission of guilt or liability has been made, and we did not provide any customer or purchase information to anyone, including the City of San Francisco and the State of California.”

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