Crackdown on ‘ghost guns’ targets offenders

For a long time, legislation to stiffen Pennsylvania gun laws has been greeted in Harrisburg with about the same enthusiasm as flu season.

There are several reasons for this, chief among them being the influence of the National Rifle Association on Republicans who have long dominated both the House and Senate. Pennsylvania traditionally has been a strong Second Amendment state, with a proud tradition of hunting that has been handed down from father to son for generations.

The usual reply to gun reform efforts is a chorus of “just enforce the laws,” and “if you restrict access to guns, then only criminals will have guns.”

But there are signs that the NRA’s icy grip on the Legislature may be thawing, in particular when it comes to what is usually referred to as “common-sense gun reform,” some of it proposed by moderate Republicans.

Last year Sen. Tom Killion, R-26 of Middletown, was successful in getting legislation passed that would mandate those convicted of domestic abuse or who have final Protection From Abuse orders against them to relinquish their firearms within 24 hours. Under the old law, offenders had 60 days to do so. They also must surrender their guns to law enforcement or a registered gun dealer, as opposed to a family member or friend.

Now Killion is leading the charge for so-called “ERPO” or a “Red-Flag Law.” The measure would allow for the temporary removal of guns from individuals deemed dangerous, either to themselves or others, by the court. The petition could be made by a law enforcement agency or a family member.

But legislation is not the only path to changing Pennsylvania’s gun laws.

Last week Attorney General Josh Shapiro issued a legal opinion to the Pennsylvania State Police to crack down on what are referred to as “ghost guns.”

Basically these are unassembled guns or frames — often ordered online or purchased at gun shows — that can quickly be assembled into working firearms by adding the missing parts, creating a weapon that likely does not have a serial number and is virtually impossible to trace.

Up until this point, these ghost guns, sometimes referred to as “80% receivers,” have fallen outside the law. They often do not carry serial numbers, thus making them nearly impossible to trace. Purchases of these items also are not subject to mandatory background checks.

Many law enforcement officials claim criminals use these “ghost guns” as an easy way around current laws, including those that prohibit felons from possessing firearms.

Shapiro’s order changes that, directing that state police now treat “ghost guns” as they would any other firearm, if they are “designed to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive, or if they can be readily converted to do so.”

Shapiro said ghost guns routinely are winding up in the hands of felons and others barred from possessing them. And he pointed to local gun shows as a prime activity area for the “ghost gun” business. Shapiro pointed to the state’s largest gun show, held annually in Oaks, Montgomery County, as a prime spot for those looking to acquire ghost guns.

Shapiro also makes a point that should strike home with the pro-gun rights crowd. It does not affect those who are legally able to purchase a firearm. It only expands the ban to those already prohibited from possessing a firearm, thus cutting off any end-around of the system by acquiring the parts instead of the finished product.

“If you are allowed to own a firearm, it is still perfectly legal to buy an 80-percent receiver and turn it into a fully functioning gun,” Shapiro explained.

The attorney general said more than 100 ghost guns have been recovered from those who otherwise would not be allowed to possess a firearm this year in Philadelphia alone.

Gov. Tom Wolf said Shapiro’s legal opinion “was in the best interests of all of Pennsylvania” since it specifically “closes a loophole that never should have existed in the first place.”

We concur. No one who can legally purchase a firearm will be affected by this shift in policy. It targets only those who are already prohibited from possessing a gun, cutting off a loophole offenders use to skirt the law and get their hands on a firearm, often with tragic results.

It’s another step toward common-sense gun reform in Pennsylvania.