NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James last Wednesday together with Everytown for Gun Safety, GIFFORDS, John V. Elmore P.C., Connors LLP, and Collins & Collins Attorneys LLC, announced a global settlement with gun accessory manufacturer MEAN LLC (Mean Arms), for aiding the Buffalo Tops shooter in possessing an assault weapon in New York. New York law bans the possession of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Mean Arms manufactures, sells, and distributes a magazine lock, known as the MA Lock, that it markets as a device to lock a magazine onto a rifle. However, the lock can easily be removed so that detachable magazines, including high-capacity magazines, can be inserted. The Buffalo shooter purchased an AR-15-style rifle with an MA Lock, easily removed the lock, and added 30-round detachable magazines, turning his rifle into an assault weapon that is illegal in New York.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) sued Mean Arms in May 2023 for aiding the Tops shooter, after finding the company advertised that the MA Lock is easily detachable and provided step-by-step instructions on how to remove it. The global settlement resolves OAG’s lawsuit and resolves all claims brought against Mean Arms by the victims and families of victims of the mass shooting.
As a result of OAG’s action, Mean Arms will permanently stop selling the MA Lock in New York, remove any statements that claim the MA Lock is legal in New York, state on all packaging that the MA Lock cannot be sold or resold in New York, and notify all businesses currently selling the MA Lock that the product is not to be sold or resold to individuals and/or businesses in New York. Mean Arms will also pay $1.75 million in restitution to victims’ families, injured individuals, and traumatized survivors.
“The racist mass shooting at Tops in Buffalo was an unbearable tragedy,” said Attorney General James. “We lost 10 beautiful lives in a horrific act of violence and hate, and no amount of money can ever return those individuals to their families or erase the devastation the community was forced to endure. Today, justice looks like accountability, and we have ensured that this device will never be sold in our state again.”
In May 2023, Attorney General James sued Mean Arms for aiding the Buffalo shooter in illegally possessing an assault weapon. Mean Arms is a Georgia-based gun accessory company that makes, sells, and distributes the MA Lock, which is a shear bolt mechanism designed to lock a detachable magazine in place on a rifle. The OAG’s complaint alleged that the company deceptively and falsely advertised that the product makes weapons compliant with New York law. The OAG found that the company provides step-by-step instructions on the back of its product packaging on how to easily remove the lock, and online videos also show how gun owners can easily remove the lock. Removing the lock allows shooters to use detachable magazines, including high-capacity magazines. High-capacity magazines enable a shooter to keep firing rounds without stopping or pausing to reload, increasing the deadliness of an attack.
In January 2022, the Buffalo shooter purchased a semiautomatic rifle in New York with an MA Lock installed and a 10-round magazine. After following Mean Arms’ removal instructions, on May 14, 2022, the shooter inserted multiple 30-round detachable magazines onto his weapon. With a pistol grip and the high-capacity magazines, he did not have to stop to reload his weapon, and when he did reload, he could do so quickly. As a result, he was able to kill 10 people and injure three others.
As a result of the settlement, Mean Arms will permanently stop selling the MA Lock in New York. Mean Arms is also required to pay $1.75 million in restitution to victims’ families, injured individuals, and traumatized survivors.
