City Attorney Chiu and Attorney General Bonta sue websites distributing 3D-printed gun blueprints

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 6, 2026) — San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu and California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced today that they have filed a lawsuit against Gatalog, a group of websites and people that promote illegal firearm usage by unlawfully distributing codes to create 3D-printed firearms. Ghost guns, including 3D-printed firearms, are untraceable by law enforcement and pose a significant threat to public safety.

“Gatalog is distributing blueprints for some of the world’s most dangerous and untraceable weapons,” said City Attorney Chiu. “Ghost guns bypass background checks and leave law enforcement no trail in violent crimes. Gatalog is illegally disseminating computer code that makes it quick, cheap, and easy for anyone, including teenagers, to 3D-print ghost guns and convert semi-automatic weapons into machine guns. They are making it easier to put guns in the hands of dangerous individuals, including those barred from owning a firearm. We’re asking the Court to stop Gatalog’s illegal distribution of ghost gun blueprints, which makes us all less safe.”

“This groundbreaking lawsuit shows that our office is not bound by the old playbook. Similar to these defendants, we think creatively, but our aim is to protect public safety rather than obstruct it,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “These defendants’ conduct enables unlicensed people who are too young or too dangerous to pass firearm background checks to illegally print deadly weapons without a background check and without a trace. This lawsuit underscores just how dangerous the ghost gun industry is and how much harm its skip-the-background-check business model has done to California’s communities. Thankfully, there is hope. We have made progress at addressing this threat in our state and we will continue this good work. California is building a model for policymakers in other states and in Congress to comprehensively address the ghost gun crisis nationwide. I’m committed to continuing to prioritize efforts to protect Californians from an industry that skirts the law to arm people who never passed a background check with weapons designed to end life.”

“We applaud Attorney General Bonta and City Attorney Chiu for their leadership and decisive action confronting the serious threat to public safety posed by 3D-printed guns,” said Adam Skaggs, Chief Counsel and Vice President, GIFFORDS Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “We have fought the ghost gun threat for years, including by partnering with Attorney General Bonta to permanently stop three reckless ghost gun companies from ever doing business in the state of California. But a new generation of irresponsible gun industry actors are trying to unlawfully arm minors, people with felony convictions, and domestic abusers by letting them 3D-print their own guns without any background checks. Today’s decisive action against Gatalog is a critical first step in showing they are not above the law and stopping those who would profit from undermining public safety.”

Background
Through a series of related websites and online platforms, Gatalog provides digital firearm codes and instructions to 3D-print handguns, assault rifles, gun silencers, and devices like Glock switches that convert semiautomatic firearms into automatic machine guns. Gun codes distributed by Gatalog have been linked to violent crime across the world, including terrorism and drug trafficking.

Ghost guns made by 3D-printers bypass federal background checks, lack the required serial numbers for law enforcement to trace them, and are inexpensive in comparison to firearms sold at gun retailers. The 3D printers capable of printing firearm parts now start at $200, and the materials needed cost approximately $20. Meanwhile, a typical Glock model handgun retails for around $500.

California’s ghost gun crisis has escalated dramatically over the past decade. California law-enforcement agencies recovered only three ghost guns in 2013, but that number spiked to 10,877 in 2021. Between 2019 and 2021, ghost gun recoveries increased by 592 percent, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the statewide rise in crime-gun recoveries.

In February 2024, Santa Rosa Police arrested a 14-year-old boy for manufacturing firearms using a 3D printer. That same month, San Jose Police found a 3D-printed handgun in the home of the juvenile suspect in multiple shootings. In July 2023, federal agents seized two 3D printers, one covered with swastikas, from the home of a San Fernando Valley man prohibited from owning firearms due to a prior felony. He had publicly called for the mass murder of Jewish people and used the printers to assemble fully automatic weapons.

Ghost guns also pose a serious threat to public safety in San Francisco. In 2022, San Francisco had the third-highest number of ghost guns used in crimes in California. In 2020, ghost guns made up 44 percent of the guns recovered in San Francisco homicides, compared to 6 percent in 2019. In December 2023, a San Francisco resident pleaded guilty to selling ghost guns out of his home to drug dealers and other criminals. Upon arrest, law enforcement found him with several ghost guns, including fully automatic AR-15 machine guns, AK-47 parts, ammunition, two 3D printers, and a machine to drill metal gun parts.

Gatalog makes its digital firearm codes available without any restriction and actively encourages users to defy firearm regulations and use the codes to illegally manufacture 3D-printed guns. The lawsuit alleges Gatalog violated state laws restricting the distribution of digital firearm code, aided and abetted the unlawful manufacture of firearms, and engaged in unlawful and unfair business practices.

The case is People of the State of California v. Gatalog Foundation Inc.., et al., San Francisco Superior Court. View the complaint.