(WEAA) — Mayor Brandon Scott announced today that Baltimore City has reached a settlement with Hanover Armory, one of Maryland's leading sellers of ghost guns — unserialized, largely untraceable firearms.
The city first secured a historic trial verdict against Hanover Armory in August 2025. While the case remains on appeal, the settlement locks in real, enforceable change.
Here's what Hanover Armory has agreed to:
- Notify the city whenever a prohibited purchaser attempts to buy a firearm at the store
- Alert the city of any attempted straw purchases
- Stop selling unserialized gun kits, Glock "switches," bump stocks, and forced reset triggers entirely
- Submit comprehensive yearly sales reports on all firearms and accessories sold
On top of those terms, Hanover will pay Baltimore City $2 million. Those funds will go directly toward restoring gun violence prevention programs that were defunded by President Trump in 2025 — programs the city credits with driving a historic decline in gun violence in Baltimore.
"This case sends a clear message: we will not tolerate irresponsible gun dealers putting illegal weapons on our streets," said Mayor Scott. "This settlement delivers accountability and oversight, ensuring that any business Hanover Armory does must be within the bounds of the law."
This isn't the first time Baltimore has taken this fight to court. In February 2024, the city settled a related lawsuit against ghost gun manufacturer Polymer 80, barring the company from selling ghost guns in Maryland or to Maryland residents in nearby states. Since that settlement, the city has seen a dramatic reduction in ghost gun recoveries.
City Solicitor Ebony M. Thompson called the outcome a direct extension of Baltimore's broader legal strategy. "We will continue to target the worst actors in the gun industry and achieve results that both fund anti-violence efforts and, most importantly, bring those bad actors into compliance with the law."
Baltimore partnered with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence to bring the original suit against both Polymer 80 and Hanover Armory back in 2021, after ghost guns began rapidly appearing on city streets — including in the hands of minors.