San Francisco Chronicle

Biden takes aim at ‘ghost guns’ with new rule

- By Michael Balsamo Michael Balsamo is an Associated Press writer.

President Biden on Monday took fresh aim at ghost guns, the privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasing­ly cropping up in violent crimes, as he struggles to break through gridlock in Washington to address gun deaths and mass shootings.

Speaking at the White House, Biden highlighte­d the Justice Department’s work to finalize new regulation­s to crack down on ghost guns, and announced the nomination of Steve Dettlebach, who served as a U.S. attorney in Ohio from 2009 to 2016, to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“Law enforcemen­t is sounding the alarm,” Biden said of ghost guns, briefly holding one up for cameras to see in the Rose Garden. “Our communitie­s are paying the price.”

He promised the new regulation­s would save lives.

Still, the announceme­nt on guns highlights the limits of Biden’s influence to push a sweeping congressio­nal overhaul of the nation’s firearm laws in response to both a recent surge in violent crime and continued mass shootings. Congress has deadlocked on legislativ­e proposals to reform gun laws for a decade, and executive actions have faced stiff headwinds in federal courts — even as the Democratic base has grown more vocal in calling on Biden to take more consequent­ial action.

Dettlebach’s confirmati­on, too, is likely to be an uphill battle. Biden had to withdraw the nomination of his first ATF nominee, gun-control advocate David Chipman, after it stalled for months because of opposition from Republican­s and some Democrats in the Senate.

For nearly a year, the ghost gun rule has been making its way through the federal regulation process. Gun safety groups and Democrats in Congress have been pushing for the Justice Department to finish the rule for months. It will probably be met with heavy resistance from gun groups and draw litigation in the coming weeks.

The new rule changes the current definition of a firearm under federal law to include unfinished parts, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun. It says those parts must be licensed and include serial numbers. Manufactur­ers must also run background checks before a sale — as they do with other commercial­ly made firearms. The requiremen­t applies regardless of how the firearm was made, meaning it includes ghost guns made from individual parts, kits, or by 3-D printers.

Federally licensed firearms dealers must retain key records until they shut down their business or licensed activity and then transfer the records to ATF as they are currently required to do at the end of licensed activity. Previously, these dealers were permitted to destroy most records after 20 years, making it harder for law enforcemen­t to trace firearms found at crime scenes.

The rule goes into effect 120 days from the date of publicatio­n in the Federal Register.

 ?? Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press ?? President Biden listens as Mia Tretta, a survivor of the 2019 Saugus High School shooting in Santa Clarita (Los Angeles County), speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House. Biden announced a final version of the administra­tion’s ghost gun rule.
Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press President Biden listens as Mia Tretta, a survivor of the 2019 Saugus High School shooting in Santa Clarita (Los Angeles County), speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House. Biden announced a final version of the administra­tion’s ghost gun rule.

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