Kramer Levin Joins Everytown for Gun Safety in Filing Suit on Behalf of the City of Philadelphia Against Gun Suppliers

On July 25, 2023, the City of Philadelphia announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Tanner’s Sport Center, Frank’s Gun Shop & Shooting Range, and Delia’s Gun Shop, which are among the larger suppliers of the city’s secondary criminal gun market, alleging that the named firearm vendors engage in illegal gun trafficking and straw transactions, contributing directly to the tide of gun violence and harm to the city and its residents. Jointly, these three vendors are the source of more than 1,300 crime guns recovered in Philadelphia from 2015 to 2019, the last years for which this data is publicly available.

Through this legal action, the city seeks to stop these firearm vendors from continuing to facilitate straw purchasing transactions and to require them to adopt written policies to prevent further straw purchasing. The city also seeks damages in the form of financial compensation to address the countless harms caused by gun violence in the city. Kramer Levin and Everytown Law, the litigation arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, are the city’s Law Department co-counsel.