Biden aims at ‘ghost gun’ violence with new federal rules

Biden aims at ‘ghost gun’ violence with new federal rules

Julia Zenkevich / WESA
April 12, 2022

PITTSBURGH – President Joe Biden is taking fresh aim at “ghost guns,” the privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up in violent crimes.

At the White House on Monday, Biden highlighted the Justice Department’s work to finalize new regulations to crack down on the guns. 

Ghost guns are sold in parts and assembled by the buyer. The absence serial numbers makes them difficult to track.

The regulations would require sellers to add serial numbers to the parts. Sellers would also have to run background checks on potential buyers.

Pennsylvania’s Attorney General’s office issued guidance classifying self-assembled gun kits as firearms in 2019 but received pushback from gun rights groups. On Monday, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said his office is prepared for a similar reaction to the federal rule.

“Certainly, you know, we’ll be prepared to deal with any litigation that comes. I will be on the top lines of that. And I’m hopeful that these rules will go into effect as quickly as possible,” Shapiro said.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, about 20,000 ghost guns were recovered during criminal investigations last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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