I read a significant part of the proposed amendment and understood the vast majority. That makes me different than 95% of the people in Congress.
The rule change is to restrict the production and sale of key parts of firearms, mainly the frame, barrel, and trigger mechanism, by anybody other than a licensed gun manufacturer and requiring a background check for such parts, with a serial number for each part manufactured and sold. The concern as I understand it is that some very expensive modern 3D printers can make a frame or barrel with an extremely crude single nail or single screw trigger, without any serial number. Politicians call that a "ghost gun" because to them it appears like magic.
So how big a deal are these "ghost guns"? The ATF cites the following instances where a homemade or manufactured gun was used in a serious crime:
- In July 2020, an individual who was prohibited from possessing guns allegedly murdered two people in Pennsylvania using a homemade 9mm handgun.
- In November 2019, a 16-year-old shot five of his classmates at Saugus High School in California—two of them fatally—using a homemade handgun, before fatally shooting himself.
- In August 2019, a shooter used a homemade gun kit to build a .223-caliber firearm that he later used to fire 41 shots in 32 seconds in a bar in Dayton, Ohio, shooting 26 people and killing nine.
- In 2017, in Northern California, a man prohibited from possessing firearms ordered kits to build AR-15-style rifles. On November 13, he initiated a series of shootings that began with fatally shooting his wife at home, followed by a rampage the next day during which he fired at multiple people in several different locations, including an elementary school, killing five people and injuring dozens more.
- In 2013, a shooter opened fire in Santa Monica, California, shooting 100 rounds, killing five people, and injuring several others at a community college using a homemade AR-15 rifle. Reporting indicates the shooter had previously tried to purchase a firearm from a licensed gun dealer and failed a background check, potentially indicating why he opted to order parts to build a gun instead.
So which of these cases actually involved a ghost gun? The first shooting involved a polymer receiver that the defendant purchased from a manufacturer, when he was ineligible to purchase a firearm due to a felony conviction. That qualifies.
The second claim is false. The kid took one of his dad's semi-automatics and did not make a gun or construct a gun. The ghost gun claim is false.
en.wikipedia.org
The third shooting involved use of an AR-style pistol, where the shooter has a wrist brace for the weapon. The gun was purchased legally and delivered to a licensed FFL dealer in Dayton, where the shooter picked it up. Once again, the "ghost gun" claim is false. Firearm purchases of this type happen thousands of times per day, and happen whenever a weapon is purchased from out-of-state. The buyer has to pass the background check and this guy passed.
en.wikipedia.org
The fourth shooting was in California and the police reported that the gunman used a "self-assembled AR-15." At the time, California had serious limitations on AR rifles, including a limit of 10 rounds. Probably qualifies as a "ghost gun." Oh, and California also had laws against shooting people, I think. Have to check on that.
en.wikipedia.org
The fifth and final example involved the shooter putting together parts for an AR-15 though he apparently revised ("milled") some of the parts to make the weapon. The buyer would not have passed a background check and in fact apparently tried to purchase an AR and was turned down, so this qualifies as a "ghost gun," though with modifications.
en.wikipedia.org
So the legislation is aimed at three shootings over the past eight years, with the terrible result of more than 25 people shot and 12 people murdered.
Or what those in law enforcement term "a long weekend in Chicago."