‘Ghost guns’ present a challenge to public safety

By Ruth Borenstein 2 days ago

Editor’s note: The opinions in this article are the author’s, as published by our content partner, and do not necessarily represent the views of MSN or Microsoft.

© Jae C. Hong / Associated Press
An ATF agent poses with homemade rifles, or “ghost guns,” at an ATF field office in Glendale, Calif., in 2017.

Do you think people who can’t pass background checks can’t buy guns in California? They can. They just go to a gun show and buy a kit containing parts that can be quickly and easily assembled into a lethal firearm — no questions asked. They end up having built a “ghost gun” that has no serial number and therefore cannot be traced if used in a crime.

Sales of ghost gun kits are not subject to any of the safeguards that California requires for firearm purchases: There are no background checks, waiting periods, age restrictions or limits on numbers of purchases. Nor are purchasers required to complete a firearms safety test.

As a result, any person with cash in hand — whether a teenager, a gang member, a convicted felon, a batterer, a drug addict, a gun trafficker or a person contemplating suicide — can walk out of a gun show with components to build a working firearm.

Reports from recent gun shows in Southern California indicate that sales of ghost gun kits are booming. All are cash transactions with no receipts. The prices, generally $400 for a Glock-clone handgun, are lower than those for firearms with serial numbers made by licensed manufacturers. Good thing that the Cow Palace’s ban on gun shows began Jan. 1.

Law enforcement officials recognize that ghost gun kits undermine efforts to prevent gun violence. According to San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia, safeguards to ensure that “individuals pass background checks and are responsible gun owners” get “thrown out the door when you have individuals that can just make a homemade gun.” California police records show that ghost guns have been recovered in a variety of crimes, including homicides, robberies, active shooter incidents and domestic violence cases. Many perpetrators sought out ghost guns precisely because they knew they could not pass a background check.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive recently reported that 30% of guns used in crimes it recovered in California are ghost guns.

Despite ghost guns’ proven threat to public safety, the company that runs many gun shows in California (including those at the Cow Palace) dismisses safety concerns, describing the kits as “fun to assemble,” “a craft, a project.” That wholesome characterization defies the reality of ghost guns’ use in violent crimes. As recognized by the agent in charge of the ATF’s Sacramento office, ghost guns are “not just something for enthusiasts”; they have “become something for people who are actual practitioners of violence.”

Fortunately, the Cow Palace’s ban on gun shows prevents that state-owned venue from being used to sell ghost gun kits. But we need more protections from this growing threat to public safety, and we need them now. California has already taken some steps to regulate ghost guns.

State law now requires owners of self-built guns to obtain serial numbers for those guns, although that requirement is largely ignored and unenforced. A recent California law will regulate the main precursor part of a gun, including requiring a background check, but that law won’t take full effect until July 2025.

Whether manufactured or self-built, if it looks like a gun, shoots like a gun and kills like a gun, it should be regulated as a gun. Please join me in urging our elected officials to do everything they can to enact — and enforce — strong laws governing ghost guns.

Poster Comment:

Ruth you need to get a handle on your insecurities. An armed populace is a safe populace. In the old west most people were armed and there was not very much violence. But as was said in Dodge City, "We're not saying you can't carry a gun. You just can't carry it in town."