The US Justice Department announced Friday that it would tighten firearms regulations and close loopholes that have caused untraceable, home-assembled "ghost guns" to increase too quickly. The department said it had confiscated more than 23,000 firearms without serial numbers from 2016 to 2020, most of which were manufactured from online-purchased key parts and kits, with some components made on home 3-D printers.
The US to crack down "ghost guns"
According to the department, at least 325 murders or attempted murders were attributed to ghost guns during that period, AFP via MSN reported. Some dealers have taken advantage of loopholes to market the most difficult-to-make gun models, the upper and lower receivers, to home-assemblers without engraved serial numbers, rendering the firearms more challenging to trace for law enforcement.
At gun sales, shoppers can purchase gun kits without having to go through a background check. In April, President Joe Biden's administration announced a slew of reforms aimed at reducing rampant gun violence in the United States, including plans to limit the use of "ghost guns."
The Justice Department said it was proposing to force manufacturers to put a serial number on the gun frames and receivers that they make and sell separately as parts. It also proposed that all retailers have to perform background checks on kits with parts needed to make a gun at home. And federally licensed dealers would have to emboss serial numbers on 3-D printed guns they make and sell.
In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said, "This new regulation will help keep guns out of the wrong hands and make it easier for law enforcement to trace weapons used to commit violent crimes." According to the Gun Violence Archive, more than 43,000 people were killed by weapons last year, including suicides. After receiving input within the next 90 days, the Justice Department will confirm the new rules. To stop the move, opponents will have to go to court.
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'Ghost Gun' retailers required to perform purchaser background checks
For years, state and local law enforcement authorities have warned of a loophole in federal firearms law that they claim allows individuals who usually are barred from buying guns to possess them by making their weapons. Undercover federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives officers are constantly finding ghost guns at crime scenes and purchasing them from gang members and other criminals.
It's legal to make a gun at home or in a workshop, and advances in 3-D printing and milling have made it much simpler, as per KTLA. For a few hundred bucks, ready-made kits may be bought online without the need for a background check, which is needed for typical weapons sales. However, under the new rule, stores will be required to conduct background checks before selling any kits that provide the necessary components to make a gun at home.
According to a senior Justice Department official, the law establishes multiple criteria for determining whether incomplete receivers can be quickly converted into completed firearms. Manufacturers would be forced to provide a serial number if they met the requirements, said the official. Serial numbers will also have to be added to handmade, unserialized guns that are exchanged in or turned in to a federal gun dealer under the law.
The official talked to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, so he could not disclose the matter until a public release. The public will have 90 days to request input after the draft regulation is released in the Federal Register.
The lower receiver, which is usually made of metal or polymer, is a crucial component in constructing an untraceable firearm. Unfinished receivers, also known as "80 percent receivers," maybe lawfully purchased online without serial numbers or other labels, and no licensing is necessary.
The process of transforming a scrap of metal into a weapon is relatively easy and takes just a few hours. A drill press or a metal cutting system known as a Computer Numeric Control, or CNC, is used to make a few holes in the receiver and well out a cavity. After that, the receiver is put together with a few other components to create a completely functional semi-automatic rifle or handgun.
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