What are ghost guns?
advertisement advertisement  Its not expensive or difficult to produce large numbers of untraceable firearms in the United States. Whether for private use, sale on the criminal market, or arming violent extremists, its actually startlingly cheap and easy to mass-produce firearms that police cant trackwhat are often called ghost guns.  advertisement  advertisement  For just over $2,000 I can buy a machinenot much bigger than a desktop laser printerthat will do the trick. If Im feeling handy, I can get it done with just simple power tools. As I discuss in my recent journal article about ghost guns, its perfectly legal to privately manufacture firearms without a license in the U.S. But its illegal to sell or give away privately manufactured firearms without a license. A person producing a single ghost gun for their own personal use may not rise to the level of official concernbut the undetected mass production of untraceable weapons makes it much more difficult to map and disrupt the illicit markets that supply guns for use in crime. advertisement  advertisement  Federal law does not require privately made firearms to have serial numbers or other identifiers, which makes it impossible to trace transfers of ownershipto follow the gunswhen they have been used in crimes. They have no history and come from nowhere. An almost-gun Federal firearms laws and regulations have over time developed a loophole through which these ghost guns can fit easily. Every firearm has a component, sometimes called a frame but also called a receiver, which is the keystone element to which other parts are attached. Finished frames and receivers are considered to be firearms under federal law. To be sold, they must have identifying marks and serial numbers, and sellers must keep records of who bought which weapons. If the firearm is used in a crime, police can investigate current and previous owners to see if they might be involved. advertisement  But nearly finished receivers are considered nothing more than pieces of metal or plastic. These items are often called 80 percenters because most but not all of the work has been done to make the piece of metal or plastic into a working receiver. They are available for purchase without a license, background check, or other protections put in place for firearms purchasesand cost as little as $50 to $75 apiece, with volume discounts available. The work needed to turn an 80 percenter into a fully functional frame or receiver takes about half an hour. All the other parts, such as a stock to support the firearm and a barrel through which bullets are fired, are freely available without regulation, and are easily attached to the receiver during manufacturing of a weapon. advertisement  advertisement  advertisement