(June 22, 2021 at 9:49 pm)Foxaire Wrote: What are ghost guns?
Quote:Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable firearms that can be bought online and assembled at home. They are often sold through "ghost gun kits," which include all of the parts and often the equipment necessary to build these weapons at home. These kits are widely available and can be purchased by anyone, including prohibited purchasers, domestic abusers, and gun traffickers — without a background check. As these kits and guns are sold at gun shows and online every day throughout the country, they undermine all of the life-saving policies that state legislatures have fought so hard to put in place.
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IMPACT OF GHOST GUNS ON COMMUNITIES
The sale of ghost gun parts and kits have increased significantly in recent years, and not surprisingly, the use of ghost guns in crime has increased exponentially:
In 2020, Carlos A. Canino, the Special Agent in charge of the ATF Los Angeles Field Division, explained: “Forty-one percent, so almost half our cases we're coming across are these ghost guns."
In 2017, three ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement in the District of Columbia. In 2018, it was 25 ghost guns. In 2019, 116 ghost guns were recovered, and at least three in connection with homicides. Just two months into 2020, 38 ghost guns had already been recovered, which suggests over 220 ghost guns will be recovered in crime in 2020.
Ghost guns have been used in three separate mass shootings in California: Saugus (2019), Tehama County (2017), and Santa Monica (2013). Twelve people, including two teenagers, were killed in these shootings. Dozens more were shot and injured. The Tehama and Santa Monica shooters were prohibited from purchasing firearms, and the Saugus shooter was a minor who, by virtue of his age, was not legally able to possess any firearm under California law.
GHOST GUNS UNDERMINE LAW ENFORCEMENT
Gun tracing — a method for identifying the sequence of ownership from manufacturing to the first retail sale is — as the ATF has noted, “an integral tool in law enforcement’s efforts to reduce firearms-related violence.” Ghost guns have no serial numbers and are untraceable. Gun traffickers can purchase unlimited numbers of parts and kits and build unserialized guns which can then be easily diverted into the criminal market, leaving law enforcement with no way to trace their origin. These weapons are, by design, perfect crime guns.
WHAT MUST BE DONE
It is critical for states to act now to proactively prevent ghost guns from becoming more prevalent. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Washington State, and the District of Columbia have all taken action to regulate or ban ghost guns, and several other states are considering similar legislation.
The ATF should also broaden its interpretation of the term “firearm” to include unfinished frames and receivers which are designed and marketed to be easily converted into firearms.
You people watch too much TV...
Once a rifle or shotgun leaves a gun shop - there is NO way to trace it' s ownership.... (The same for handguns in many states)
So you find the original owner. He only need say three words.
"I sold it".
End of trail. He is not required to keep records of who he sold it to - and is under no obligation to help law enforcement.....
If you think otherwise - re- read first sentence.
