Biden Announces Regulations to Crack Down on Ghost Guns

President Joe Biden announced regulations on Monday meant to contain the use of unserialized ghost guns as he comes under pressure to take more steps to address a national crisis of gun violence.

The regulation addresses a critical gap in the government’s ability to track weapons by requiring background checks before purchase and serial numbers on some of the components, according to CNN.

Locally, the discussions on ghost guns came to the forefront after a Pasadena police officer fatally shot Anthony McClain.

Police claim McClain was armed when he fled from them during a traffic stop. Police say a ghost gun with McClain’s DNA was found at the scene.

Ghost guns make up a small share of the guns recovered by law enforcement, they have been seen with increasing frequency in recent years.

“If you buy a couch you have to assemble, it’s still a couch. If you order a package like this one over here that includes that parts that you need and directs the assembly of a functioning firearm, you bought a gun,” President Biden declared, striding over to the kit and demonstrating the ease of constructing the weapon.

“It doesn’t take very long,” he said. “Anyone can order it in the mail.”

Between 2016 and 2021, the ATF received 45,000 reports of privately made firearms recovered by law enforcement, including 692 from homicides or attempted homicides. The agency was able to trace only 1% of them, officials said, because the firearms lack serial numbers.

Ghost gun kits can be purchased online, and a weapon can be self-manufactured in as little as 30 minutes. The lack of identifying marks are appealing to criminals and those with criminal histories, according to officials.

A rash of shootings over the weekend underscored the emergency: Four people, including two teens, were shot shortly after a baseball game, on Saturday night, police said. In Illinois, six people were found injured after a shooting occurred in a residential neighborhood.

Six people were shot and one person was killed in Indianapolis. and two people were also killed and 10 hospitalized after a “targeted attack” at a Cedar Rapids nightclub, police say.

Routine deadly gun violence is a uniquely American problem. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deemed gun violence a “serious public health threat” last year.

Gun violence traditionally spikes in the summer months, lending further urgency to Monday’s actions.

The new rules require anyone purchasing a kit to undergo a background check, as is required for other types of firearm purchases. It also requires those selling the kits to mark components with a serial number, so the eventual weapon produced can be traced. And it mandates firearm dealers add a serial number to already built ghost guns they come across in their businesses.

The Justice Department previously launched a national ghost gun enforcement initiative, which will “train a national cadre of prosecutors and disseminate investigation and prosecution tools to help bring cases against those who use ghost guns to commit crimes,” according to the White House.

Ghost guns have been used in multiple recent shootings, including at a Maryland high school in January. The exact number in circulation is unknowable, given the inability of regulators to track them.