Chuck: Crack down on unmarked ‘ghost guns’
President Biden could tighten gun control quickly by closing a legal loophole that permits the sale of “ghost guns” that are available in pieces packaged in easy-to-assemble kits, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday.
Ghost guns do not have serial numbers nor require background checks, and the recent mass shootings in the Atlanta area and in Boulder, Colo., make it clear that a crackdown on sales is needed, the Brooklyn Democrat said at a news conference.
“They’re totally unregulated, available to anyone, with no background check required,” Schumer said. “Amid the pain of another senseless shooting in this country, Americans are clamoring for the feds to do something.”
Ghost guns are legal because federal regulations do not require certain firearm parts to be registered if they do not have certain holes fully drilled into them.
Schumer said he sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and to Regina Lombardo, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, to close the loophole.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki last week said Biden planned to amend the regulations.
Ghost guns have proved to be a problem in New York over the last year. Police seized 22 of the untraceable guns, which can be purchased online, during the arrest of three people in Long Island last summer.
New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2019 sent cease-and-desist letters to online sellers of ghost gun kits in an effort to keep them out of the Empire State. “We know that these untraceable and undetectable weapons can cause the same immense destruction and harm as traditional firearms, yet they are not subject to the same regulations,” James said in a statement.
“My office has successfully shut down companies that provide access to these weapons and taken action to regulate them, but far more is needed to protect our families and our children.”
The NYPD did not have data on the number of ghost gun seizures in the city, but a spokesman said the number of guns recovered during arrests spiked by 30% last year to 4,280 from 3,299 the year before.
Schumer said he wants to see tougher gun regulations, including a bill passed by the House of Representatives in 2019 that would have required background checks for sales at gun shows.
He said former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell prevented the bill from reaching the Senate floor.