U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined a group of 15 senators to introduce legislation to ban “ghost” guns. As reports emerge that the health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic have increased demand and sales of untraceable weapons, the Untraceable Firearms Act would require distributors and manufacturers to comply with federal firearm safety guidelines.
“The notion that anyone — including convicted felons, domestic abusers, and other dangerous individuals — can download instructions to manufacture or sell an untraceable gun is chilling,” said Senator Gillibrand. “These “ghost” guns bypass our background check system and make it harder for law enforcement to keep us safe. Congress must catch up with technology and outlaw these dangerous weapons.”
The Untraceable Firearms Act would address ghost guns and their core building blocks – unfinished frames and receivers – and the gun-making kits used to build them in the definition of “firearm” under federal law. This would require online gun kit manufacturers and distributors to comply with the same federal regulations that oversee the production and distribution of completed firearms. This legislation would also require that sellers have a manufacturer’s license and put a serial number on the frame or receiver included in each kit, and that purchasers undergo a background check. The Untraceable Firearms Act incorporates the Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act, which prohibits firearms that can be easily modified to pass through metal detectors undetected.
This legislation is endorsed by leading gun violence prevention groups including Everytown for Gun Safety, Giffords, and Newtown Action Alliance.
Full text of the legislation can be found here.