Los Angeles pressures card networks to halt payments on gun-building kits

Materials that people buy online to build untraceable guns are contributing to an increase in violence, and credit card companies can and should play a role in combating the threat, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney.

In a letter to the card networks, District Attorney George Gascon said halting online payments for the purchase of "ghost gun" kits would show "responsible corporate citizenship."

"American Express, Mastercard and Visa have the ability to go beyond what any law enforcement agency, legislature or city council can accomplish," Gascon said in the letter. "We are asking these companies to join us in stemming the flow of ghost guns into our communities by preventing a ghost gun kit from being sold with a few mere clicks on a smartphone or a computer."

Ghost gun kits typically cost about $350 to $500 to order by mail. The Los Angeles DA reports these guns are unregistered and don't have serial numbers, making them untraceable. The weapons are also sold without background checks, meaning people who are normally banned from buying firearms due to convictions for felonies, domestic violence, mental illness or being underage can obtain a ghost gun by falsifying their self-certification.

The Los Angeles Police Department recovered 813 ghost guns in 2020, and 1,780 during the first 11 months of 2021. Ghost guns account for 33% of all guns recovered in suspected criminal activity, according to the LAPD.

The LAPD additionally reports that homicides in 2021 increased 25% compared with 2020, and in the first 10 months of 2021, ghost guns had been used in 24 murders, eight attempted murders, 60 assaults involving guns and 20 armed robberies.

"It is well documented and beyond dispute that the proliferation of ghost guns has had a debilitating effect on our country, our state and our county. By prohibiting online payments for ghost guns, the credit card agencies can take meaningful steps to improve public safety," the Los Angeles DA's letter said.

Fraud detection

30 banks, nonprofit team up to fight human trafficking at Super Bowl

February 9, 2022 12:42 PM

Visa, Mastercard and American Express did not return requests for comment by deadline. The card networks and other financial institutions are often in the middle of controversies involving gun sales given their role as payment rails or sources of funding. The card networks, for example, faced pressure in 2018 over processing payments for gun purchases after a string of mass shootings.

An advocacy group called Everytown for Gun Safety in 2018 called on banks to follow "know your customer" rules for financing or processing payments for the sale of "bump stocks" to risky consumers. Citigroup later restricted retailers from selling bump stocks; and fintech lender Kabbage (now an American Express subsidiary) said it would not provide funding to businesses that sell ammunition or guns to consumers under 21. First National Bank dropped a partnership with the National Rifle Association. More recently, banks doing business in Texas faced pressure over gun restrictions due to a state law that bans large banks from underwriting municipal bonds if they "discriminate" against firearm or ammunition businesses.

The Los Angeles DA's letter comes at the same time as a group of more than two dozen banks have joined forces to combat human trafficking over Super Bowl weekend, which is in Los Angles this year, drawing attention to the role financial institutions can play in curtailing crime.

In its letter, the Los Angeles DA referenced the card networks' 2015 ban on payments for ads in the adult section of Backpage.com after the site had been linked to sex trafficking. The card networks and other payment companies have also restricted payments to adult sites and related organizations over the years.