So, what is a ghost gun? Anyone, including minors and forbidden buyers, can purchase and construct ghost guns without a background check.
According to law enforcement authorities who spoke to CNN and NBC News, Luther’s rifle was a “ghost gun.” Individuals assemble such guns with the help of kits or components, or they may have one incomplete piece, usually the frame or receiver, which the buyer must drill for the weapon to work correctly. These homemade weapons do not require serial numbers because of a loophole in federal gun laws. Instead, the kit or individual parts sells without a background check that someone who bought a gun from a federally licensed dealer would have to go through.
Criminals possessing ghost weapons is an increasing issue for law enforcement. “Everytown for Gun Safety,” a known gun control advocates group, researched in 2020 and discovered that 68 percent of online gun merchants started selling ghost gun components after 2014. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), law enforcement agencies around the US reported recovering about 20,000 suspected ghost weapons during criminal investigations in 2021, a tenfold increase from 2016.
Ghost weapons are:
- Designed to eliminate all firearms regulations
- Irretrievable and unserialized
- Available for purchase without a background investigation
What Is a Ghost Gun?
Ghost guns are created by individuals using unfinished frames or receivers; the component of the handgun that holds the firing mechanism’s working elements is subject to federal regulation. However, it is unregulated when a frame or receiver is “unfinished” by a tiny amount.
Ghost gun kits contain everything needed to turn an unfinished frame or receiver into a fully functioning firearm. Once put together, the ghost gun looks, feels, and works just like a regular gun, whether an assault weapon or a handgun, and it can be just as lethal and dangerous in the wrong hands.
Important Points Regarding Ghost Guns
- The purchase of ghost gun kits or parts is not subject to any federal prohibitions;
- There are no federal restrictions on the number of ghost gun parts or kits that you may purchase.
- Parts and kits for ghost guns are reasonably priced.
- Ghost gun kits and parts are purposefully marketed as unregulated and untraceable to attract buyers who want to bypass background checks and are gun traffickers.
Ghost Guns Undermine Law Enforcement
According to the ATF, “a vital instrument in law enforcement attempts to prevent firearm-related violence” is the process of tracking ownership from the point of manufacture through the first retail sale.
A ghost weapon is an untraceable firearm and lacks serial numbers. Gun traffickers have limitless access to components and kits, allowing them to create unexportable weapons that are simple to redirect to the black market with no means for law enforcement to track their origin. Such weapons are perfect by design.
Are They Legal?
Federal law permits making ghost guns for personal use, and they are exempt from serial number and background check requirements.
According to Rob Pincus, a former law enforcement officer who now develops gun safety programs, the production of privately made firearms, commonly known as ghost guns, has skyrocketed in recent years.
Ghost weapons are virtually untraceable because neither a background check nor a serial number is necessary. Making these firearms for personal use is permissible according to federal law, which adds to their appeal.
How Does ATF Regulate Laws on Fundamentally Untraceable Ghost Guns?
There are two problems with trying to judge how effective the laws are. First, it’s challenging to understand anything that hasn’t been around for very long, especially when it comes to gun laws, as they have only been in existence for a few years at most. The bigger problem is that they don’t have a lot of data.
ATF has made an effort to fight for greater data transparency and wants law enforcement authorities to reveal as much as they can about the weapons they seize. It is also true at the federal level, where it is challenging to get guns because most guns are untraceable. It will help to reduce gun violence.
What Is a Ghost Gun Kit?
Ghost guns are unregistered, untraceable firearms that are available for online purchase. You can assemble them at home. They are frequently sold as “ghost gun kits,” which come with all the components and tools needed to create these weapons at home.
These kits are freely accessible, and anybody can buy them without a background check, including prohibited buyers, domestic abusers, and gun traffickers. Every day around the nation, these kits and weapons are being sold at gun shows and online, undermining all of the life-saving regulations that state legislatures have worked so hard to establish.
Final Words
Thus we can conclude that a ghost gun is a handcrafted, do-it-yourself firearm constructed from inexpensive building materials that can be purchased without questions and without running a background check. With federal authorization, these firearms are created by a person, not a producer or importer. The fastest-growing issue with gun safety in the world is ghost guns.
David Chipman, is a candidate who President Joe Biden intends to nominate to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. According to him, building a gun in your home has always been legal, but it has never been a big deal because being a gunsmith needs some serious training and tools. He continued by stating that most people who did it were hobbyists with plenty of free time. Unfortunately, these handcrafted weapons were often used in crimes.
According to Chipman, domestic abusers, terrorists, and extremist organizations can also benefit from the “ghost gun” loophole.
