With only a few days left until new federal regulations effectively outlaw so-called ghost guns on August 24, numerous companies are trying to sell the parts required to assemble the largely untraceable handguns, while gun aficionados continue to construct them.
In April, President Joe Biden announced new laws that will regard ghost guns, which may be assembled from internet or 3D-printed components, the same as any other firearms sold in the United States.
Ghost guns lack serial numbers, which would allow law authorities to trace them if they were used in a crime. Additionally, anyone may purchase ghost gun parts online without undergoing a background check, letting criminals to circumvent limitations designed to prohibit them from acquiring a regular firearm from a registered dealer. Numerous websites that sell ghost gun parts have provided countdowns to the rule’s implementation date and information for gun aficionados who wish to continue home-building guns.
The sites include businesses such as 80-lower.com, which advises visitors to “take your freedom while you can” and provides links to AR-15 receiver product listings. A comparable website, 80percentarms.com, offers to dispatch phantom gun parts until the day the rule goes into effect. The websites 80-lower.com and 80percentarms.com did not reply to a request for comment from CBS News.
In recent years, the number of ghost weapons in the United States has increased. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Weapons, and Explosives (ATF), which oversees firearms, the amount of ghost gun parts discovered at crime scenes has increased dramatically in recent years.
In its most recent assessment on the U.S. gun market, the ATF cited Google trends data indicating an increase in interest in “ghost gun parts.”
This data indicates that searches for specific ghost gun parts have increased by more than 600 percent over the past decade.
According to the ATF report, ghost weapons make it easy to “create a firearm at home without records or background checks.”
Bob and Hugh are two of the individuals doing this. They requested that CBS News only use their first names out of fear of reprisal.
In their garage in California’s Central Valley, they construct functional AR-15-style guns from what, under current federal law, are merely metal pieces.
When new ATF regulations go into effect, so-called “80 percent receivers” will be classified firearms and regulated similarly to other firearms.
Privately constructed firearms, such as those assembled by Bob and Hugh, are practically identical to those sold in stores, with the exception that they lack serial numbers.
Bob and Hugh began affixing serial numbers to all the firearms they manufactured in 2018, when California mandated serial numbers on ghost firearms. It is one of the few states that regulates ghost firearms at all.
As soon as the new ATF restrictions take effect, similar regulations will be implemented in every state. This does not imply that privately manufactured firearms will become illegal; rather, ghost guns will be required to be serialized, or include a serial number. The laws would also mandate a background check for everyone who purchases the parts.
Bob expressed fear that the new regulations may discourage law-abiding persons from manufacturing firearms like he does. He also expressed concern that criminals will not comply and will continue to manufacture unserialized firearms illegally.
“The restrictions will dissuade a large number of people like myself who prefer to conduct business ethically,” he said. They will discourage individuals from engaging in this pastime.
The goal of activists and federal officials is that these new laws will reduce the use of “ghost guns” in violent crimes.
David Pucino, Deputy Chief Counsel at the Giffords Law Center, which pushes for tougher gun control regulations, stated that it is a “strong rule” that will make it more difficult for criminals to construct ghost weapons while allowing amateurs such as Bob and Hugh to continue doing so.
“For the end user, if you’re a responsible gun owner who wants to create their own weapons, there will be no consequence – no meaningful change,” Pucino stated. “The process will be identical to that of purchasing a finished firearm. However, if you are a criminal actor attempting to circumvent these regulations, you will no longer be able to do so because you will no longer be able to obtain the components necessary to construct these ghost firearms.”
In recent years, ghost weapons have posed a growing challenge for law enforcement. According to the ATF, nearly all ghost weapons collected from crime scenes — more than 99 percent — cannot be traced. Simultaneously, the number of ghost weapons used in crimes has skyrocketed by 1,000% since 2016, yet they still account for only 3% of all firearms seized by police.
The Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division, Charlie Patterson, described the pattern as “extremely concerning.”
Here in [Washington, D.C.], 41% of all seized privately manufactured firearms are linked to another shooting.
Patterson expressed optimism that the new regulations will make a difference.
“I believe that any tool law enforcement has that can disrupt guns trafficking and prevent even one gun-related death will make a difference,” he said.
According to Pucino, for the new guidelines to be truly successful, “implementation” is crucial.
The ATF must administer the rule with extreme caution, according to Pucino. “To ensure that anyone who sell weapons under a different name or parts that can be used to create firearms are regulated as if they are selling weapons. And if the ATF follows through, I believe the rule will be highly successful.”
However, gun owners and advocates such as Bob and Hugh continue to believe that the new regulations will not lower crime.
Hugh stated, “It’s impossible.” “Because it is identical. Criminals disregard the law.”
CBS News consulted The Trace, a nonprofit media group that covers firearms, for this article. Prior to the federal regulation change, The Trace journalist Alain Stephens studied the ATF’s efforts to curb the illicit usage of “ghost weapons.”