Biden Reveals New Restrictions to Crack Down on ‘Ghost Guns’, Names New ATF Nominee

The new rule will require makers of ghost gun kits to include serial numbers on the firearms so they will be easier to trace. Ghost guns are firearms sold online as D.I.Y. kits, and can be assembled without a license or a background check. The weapons are effectively unregulated and untraceable because they are sold as “uncompleted” parts.

US President Joe Biden, joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, announced on Monday that the US Department of Justice has finally issued a rule to crack down on the rapid growth of ghost guns - the unserialized, privately-made firearms that have been showing up in criminal investigations time and time again over the past few years.

“Folks, a felon, a terrorist, a domestic abuser can go from a gun kit to a gun in as little as 30 minutes,” Biden said during his Monday announcement in the White House Rose Garden.

“These guns are a weapon of choice for many criminals, we’re going to do everything we can to deprive them of that choice, and finally put them in jail for a long, long time,” he added.

The rule will ban the business of manufacturing the most accessible ghost guns, such as the “buy build shoot” kits which can be purchased online or at a store without a background check and can be assembled in less than 30 minutes.

“Ghost guns can be purchased on the internet and assembled at a kitchen table. They can be bought without a background check by people who would otherwise be legally prohibited from gun ownership: domestic abusers, gun traffickers, individuals convicted of violent crimes, and even young children,” Harris said during the event.

“Traditional guns are required to have serial numbers which can help law enforcement identify a firearm that has been stolen from its lawful owner or found at the scene of a crime- ghost guns have no serial numbers, they are practically untraceable, making it difficult for law enforcement to hold to account those who use weapons to do violence,” she added.

The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reported that last year alone, about 20,000 ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement during criminal investigations.

And while ghost guns are sold as “uncompleted” parts, which is why they’ve gone unregulated for so long, they are actually rather easy to build. The kits are assembled 80% of the way, leaving consumers to put together the other 20% themselves. One online merchant bragged that the gun can be assembled in under 15 minutes if the customer uses the jigs included in the kits.

The kits are relatively cheap too, an AR-15 for example, costs a consumer $345.

The ATF reported that ghost guns have been showing up at a rate that is 10 times greater than where it was in 2016. But because ghost guns are sold without serial numbers, law enforcement have a harder time persecuting criminals who use the guns for illegal means.

The rule will count ghost gun kits as legitimate “firearms'' under the Gun Control Act. Under the new rule, commercial manufacturers will also be required to be licensed, and label the frames or receivers in their kits with a serial number. Commercial sellers will be required to be licensed as well, and run a background check on anyone who wishes to purchase a kit. Ghost guns which are already in circulation - no matter how they were made - will also be required to be labeled with a serial number before they can be resold.

The president also announced plans to nominate Steve Dettelbach, who is a former US attorney from Ohio, as his new pick to head the ATF, after having to withdraw his first nominee, gun-control advocate David Chipman.

Chipman was a 25-year veteran of the ATF who was focused on tightening gun laws. His nomination stalled due to opposition from pro-gun Republicans, as well as the NRA and their lobbyists. The withdrawal of his nomination was deemed a “critical win” by the NRA.

Dettelbach will most likely face an uphill battle in the process to be nominated as head of the ATF. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have been able to successfully nominate a person to the position since it was made confirmable in 2006. The current Acting Director is Marvin G. Richardson, who has been working in his role since June of 2021.

As reports surfaced of Biden's initiative, the National Rifle Association issued a statement calling the ghost gun ban not "truly sincere" when it comes to curbing violent crimes. The pro-gun group also proved to be no fan of Dettelbach's nomination, suggesting that he would "neither be fair nor objective" once placed in the ATF position.