Gun advocacy group hails move as ‘first-of-its-kind victory’
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A gun manufacturer in Henderson has had its license revoked by federal authorities following accusations of illegally selling guns.
JA Industries, which had recently rebranded itself from Jimenez Arms, violated federal firearms laws and contributed to rising crime rates in Chicago and Kansas City, according to a lawsuit filed by gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.
The nonprofit gun safety organization called the move a “first-of-its-kind victory.”
The company is located at 7380 Eastgate Road, just south of Warm Springs Road and east of U.S. 95.
The company’s website, jimenezarmsinc.com, has no information about the company, but contains blog articles written by Robert Jimenez on gun ownership and different products. The company reportedly filed for bankruptcy after the lawsuit was filed in 2000.
The lawsuit criticized the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for failing to properly screen companies that applied for licenses to make firearms.
“We can only hope this decision marks the beginning of a new era at ATF, one that is consistent with President Biden’s commitment to holding rogue and reckless members of the gun industry accountable for breaking the law and putting lives in danger,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “After decades of serving as the gun industry’s lapdog, it’s time for ATF to do its job and be the American people’s watchdog.”
A lawsuit filed by Everytown and the City of Kansas City named Jimenez Arms and several gun dealers. The lawsuit said Jimenez Arms every year made tens of thousands of cheap handguns that turned up at crime scenes in Kansas City and Chicago “at a rate disproportionate to the company’s market share.”
The plaintiffs alleged in their suit against the ATF that the company’s owner, Paul Jimenez, applied for a new license under the name JA Industries and that it took the ATF less than a month to award the license. The suit alleged that company officials had made false statements to the ATF and had unlawfully shipped guns to a firearms trafficker, which should’ve made the company and its officials ineligible for holding a federal firearms license.
A message seeking comment from JA Industries on Thursday was not immediately returned, according to the Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.