This information can be key to solving crimes. A trace report is kind of like a CarFax report for a gun: A detailed documentation of its life that includes the name of its manufacturer, distributor, seller, and purchaser. When a law enforcement agency recovers a firearm in a criminal investigation, it can submit the weapon to the ATF for what’s known as a trace. Why is it a problem when a gun doesn’t have one? In other words, it’s perfectly legal for Americans to build their own firearms. And the Brady Gun Violence Prevention Act, which established the federal background check system in 1993, included a similar allowance for homemade weapons.
#Ghost gun serial numbers
It was only in 1968, with the passage of the Gun Control Act, that gunmakers were required to obtain a license from the federal government, and stamp serial numbers on the weapons they produce.īut the Gun Control Act provided an exemption for people who make their own firearms for personal use. In fact, America has a long tradition of unregulated gunmaking. Such machines run from $2,000 to upwards of $50,000. Defense Distributed plans to appeal.Ī similar method to 3D-printing involves computer numeric control machines, which can carve unserialized receivers from metal. In November of this year, a judge overruled the Trump administration, reinstating the ban. That decision that was reversed by the Trump administration in 2018. In 2013, the Department of State banned the publication of blueprints on the Internet. The practice of distributing blueprints for 3D-printed guns online is highly controversial, and has been at the center of a years-long legal battle between the Department of State and Defense Distributed, a gun advocacy and manufacturing group. ) As The Trace has reported, Defense Distributed, the company that released the Liberator, continues to operate. The Liberator, the first 3D-printed pistol to function successfully, was created in 2013 by self-described anarchist and ghost gun guru Cody Wilson, received widespread media coverage and raised fears that such weapons could arm terrorists and bypass metal detectors. But the particulars of his deal left him in a legal gray area that allows him to own and work with firearms. Wait - I thought all ghost guns were 3D printed?Īfter an international manhunt, Wilson pleaded guilty to a felony in Texas court. “If you can put Ikea furniture together, you can make one of these,” said Carlos Canino, the special agent in charge of the Los Angeles Division of the federal Bureau of Firearms, Alcohol, Tobacco and Explosives (ATF). This may sound like a lot of work, but experts say it’s not. Add a few more parts - which can also be purchased without a background check - and you have a fully functional firearm. With a little elbow grease, anybody can take the receiver to 100 percent. What does that mean? You guessed it: A lower receiver that’s 80 percent finished. There are dozens of companies that sell what are known as “80 percent” lower receivers.
One of the most popular methods for creating a ghost gun entails buying pre-made parts and assembling them into a gun at home. While you can walk into a store and purchase a new barrel or handguard for your rifle without a background check, the lower receiver is treated as a de facto weapon. According to federal law, the lower receiver is actually a firearm. It’s kind of like the chassis of the weapon, housing vital components like the hammer and trigger. The most important part of a gun is what’s known as the lower receiver.
The term “ghost gun” is used by media, police, and sometimes the firearms industry to describe homemade weapons devoid of serial numbers or other identifying markings that enable them to be tracked to their maker, seller, or original owner.įor years, law enforcement authorities referred to these weapons as simply “homemade” guns or “kit” guns. Let’s break down the basics: What exactly is a ghost gun? But there are many misconceptions about what qualifies as a ghost gun, and much confusion about the challenges they present. Law enforcement agencies are facing a new and growing problem: Homemade, nearly impossible-to-trace firearms, otherwise known as ghost guns.