Should Ghost guns be allowed to exist? America’s struggle with unregistered guns
In the light of the recent Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting, gun legislation in the US is again under scrutiny. The tragedy that took place in California left at least 11 people injured and 3 dead. It comes as a gruesome reminder that guns can still easily find their way in the hands of criminals, even in the states with the tightest gun laws.
Law enforcement is currently still trying to figure out how this tragedy happened and official inquiries may last for weeks. What we do know for a fact is that the shooting took place in Christmas Hill Park, a 51-acre community park operated by the City of Gilroy, where weapons of any kind are banned.
This is just one of the nightmares that stricter gun legislation perhaps could have prevented. But what about the tens of thousands of unregistered guns, that the legislation fails to monitor at all?
Ghost Guns is the term used by law enforcement, gun rights or gun control advocates to describe guns that exploit an existing loophole in the US law. They are in essence firearms that have no serial numbers and therefore are hard to trace and keep track of. These types of weapons bypass conventional gun regulations, by for example having the owner build the gun himself. U.S. federal law does not explicitly prohibit the manufacturing and possession of guns made by private citizens. But sales and distribution require a license. This loophole has only recently been addressed by legislators and their actions could not have come soon enough.
Homemade guns were up until 10 years ago projects that gun enthusiasts use to tinker about with in their sheds. People used to work on these things as a hobby and make forum entries about how to solve certain technical difficulties. The geeks of the gun world had something to do or read about in their spare time. Once in a while, some guy entered the forum to explain how he modified his AK 47 for automatic fire. The post would then be deleted after reports from other users. But now, times have changed. Unregistered guns are being used more and more by criminals. Their unregulated nature makes them ideal for illegal activities. Some of them are semi-automatic versions, others can be modified with ease for automatic use. They are easily available and very hard to keep track of. The police have no answer to them. And although not 100% reliable, they are reliable enough to cause serious injuries and cause deaths.
Guns manufactured outside the traditional supply chain fall into two main categories.
Some of them are made from kits, that people can just buy from companies that are not required to get a license because they don’t sell the complete lower receiver. The lower receiver is the basis of the gun. The thing that keeps the weapon together and allows you to fire. All other gun parts (the barrel assembly or the upper receiver) are mounted on to it.
The kits these companies sell are known as 80% kits. The buyer has to complete the rest of the work to get a proper functioning lower receiver. Then he can fit them with other separately acquired components and turn his work into a ghost gun. The work is simple and takes no time at all. Receivers come with instructions and aiding material that details the different steps you have to make to complete the last 20%.
The advent of better and cheaper 3D printing machines brought an even more alarming prospect regarding ghost guns. This time a printed lower receiver. The barrel, for example, is much harder to mass print, with few cheap and printable materials capable of withstanding the heat generated by firing bullets. But that just means that you can print your lower receiver and then merge it with other modules, that you can buy with no checks what so ever. Subsequently, the gun will have similar firing characteristics to a factory version, but with less durability.
The printed lower receiver fad caters mostly to modular, semi-automatic rifles, or as the National Shooting Sports Foundation calls them: modern sporting rifles. Many of these guns are AR 15 style variants, that gun manufacturers produce in a vast array of specs. It is the most prevailing and sold model in the ghost gun market. It is America’s favorite and most hated weapon.
Experts say the accessibility of ghost guns is aided by an industry of retailers selling nearly completed firearms that require no screening to purchase. Many of them use the AR as their go-to model, for an easy to build, easy to use, undetectable rifle.
Ghost guns have become such big hits that people are actually building, then selling them to customers that would probably not be able to legally obtain a firearm. And the profit is there. Reportedly, up to three times the retail price of a registered gun.
The fact that ghost guns are unregistered and can be obtained with-out any background checks makes them extremely susceptible to falling into the wrong hands. But is that enough to make people stop building their own guns?
Introducing the Ghost Gunner 2. The Gunmaker, to help gun makers. A product designed to allow you to make your own lower receivers for only 2000$. An absurd possibility in a more regulated gun market, the Ghost Gunner’s second edition is sold with the cut codes to complete selected 80% lowers and frames such as the AR-15, AR-308, and the M1911. The Ghost Gunner 2 takes its name from its second-generation, custom motion-control board, which allows it to operate as a standard CNC machine.
The company that sells this machine, Defense Distributed, offers starter packs with everything you need, right down to the latest bolt, and pretty much all you need to carve the aluminum body of the desired model in their line-up. They also sell ready-made 80% lowers and frames, from aluminum or polymer for as low as $67 (AR-15 lower receiver)
This kind of CNC machine with both hardware and software support is a long way from messing around in your backyard, with some ancient piece that you inherited from your grandfather. And is just one of the many reasons critics use when promoting legislation that aims to bring ghost guns under control.
This year alone, legislators in New York, Maryland, Washington, Oregon and Connecticut have introduced bills on this subject. The legislation is being proposed at the federal level as well, in the form of the Ghost Guns Are Guns Act
Things seem to be moving in the right direction. Let’s just hope they’re moving fast enough.
Guns tend to be controversial topics that bring forth contrasting opinions. From constitutional arguments to numerous examples of misuse, guns are a reality we cannot deny or control. All in all, only time will tell if homemade, unregistered guns will become a thing of the past. But we can all agree that it is a loophole that needs to be closed as soon as possible.
Law enforcement is currently still trying to figure out how this tragedy happened and official inquiries may last for weeks. What we do know for a fact is that the shooting took place in Christmas Hill Park, a 51-acre community park operated by the City of Gilroy, where weapons of any kind are banned.
This is just one of the nightmares that stricter gun legislation perhaps could have prevented. But what about the tens of thousands of unregistered guns, that the legislation fails to monitor at all?
Homemade ghost guns
Ghost Guns is the term used by law enforcement, gun rights or gun control advocates to describe guns that exploit an existing loophole in the US law. They are in essence firearms that have no serial numbers and therefore are hard to trace and keep track of. These types of weapons bypass conventional gun regulations, by for example having the owner build the gun himself. U.S. federal law does not explicitly prohibit the manufacturing and possession of guns made by private citizens. But sales and distribution require a license. This loophole has only recently been addressed by legislators and their actions could not have come soon enough.
Backyard to business
Homemade guns were up until 10 years ago projects that gun enthusiasts use to tinker about with in their sheds. People used to work on these things as a hobby and make forum entries about how to solve certain technical difficulties. The geeks of the gun world had something to do or read about in their spare time. Once in a while, some guy entered the forum to explain how he modified his AK 47 for automatic fire. The post would then be deleted after reports from other users. But now, times have changed. Unregistered guns are being used more and more by criminals. Their unregulated nature makes them ideal for illegal activities. Some of them are semi-automatic versions, others can be modified with ease for automatic use. They are easily available and very hard to keep track of. The police have no answer to them. And although not 100% reliable, they are reliable enough to cause serious injuries and cause deaths.
80% kit and 3D print
Guns manufactured outside the traditional supply chain fall into two main categories.
Some of them are made from kits, that people can just buy from companies that are not required to get a license because they don’t sell the complete lower receiver. The lower receiver is the basis of the gun. The thing that keeps the weapon together and allows you to fire. All other gun parts (the barrel assembly or the upper receiver) are mounted on to it.
The kits these companies sell are known as 80% kits. The buyer has to complete the rest of the work to get a proper functioning lower receiver. Then he can fit them with other separately acquired components and turn his work into a ghost gun. The work is simple and takes no time at all. Receivers come with instructions and aiding material that details the different steps you have to make to complete the last 20%.
The advent of better and cheaper 3D printing machines brought an even more alarming prospect regarding ghost guns. This time a printed lower receiver. The barrel, for example, is much harder to mass print, with few cheap and printable materials capable of withstanding the heat generated by firing bullets. But that just means that you can print your lower receiver and then merge it with other modules, that you can buy with no checks what so ever. Subsequently, the gun will have similar firing characteristics to a factory version, but with less durability.
The printed lower receiver fad caters mostly to modular, semi-automatic rifles, or as the National Shooting Sports Foundation calls them: modern sporting rifles. Many of these guns are AR 15 style variants, that gun manufacturers produce in a vast array of specs. It is the most prevailing and sold model in the ghost gun market. It is America’s favorite and most hated weapon.
Experts say the accessibility of ghost guns is aided by an industry of retailers selling nearly completed firearms that require no screening to purchase. Many of them use the AR as their go-to model, for an easy to build, easy to use, undetectable rifle.
Ghost guns have become such big hits that people are actually building, then selling them to customers that would probably not be able to legally obtain a firearm. And the profit is there. Reportedly, up to three times the retail price of a registered gun.
Making headlines: Ghost Gunners
The fact that ghost guns are unregistered and can be obtained with-out any background checks makes them extremely susceptible to falling into the wrong hands. But is that enough to make people stop building their own guns?
Introducing the Ghost Gunner 2. The Gunmaker, to help gun makers. A product designed to allow you to make your own lower receivers for only 2000$. An absurd possibility in a more regulated gun market, the Ghost Gunner’s second edition is sold with the cut codes to complete selected 80% lowers and frames such as the AR-15, AR-308, and the M1911. The Ghost Gunner 2 takes its name from its second-generation, custom motion-control board, which allows it to operate as a standard CNC machine.
The company that sells this machine, Defense Distributed, offers starter packs with everything you need, right down to the latest bolt, and pretty much all you need to carve the aluminum body of the desired model in their line-up. They also sell ready-made 80% lowers and frames, from aluminum or polymer for as low as $67 (AR-15 lower receiver)
This kind of CNC machine with both hardware and software support is a long way from messing around in your backyard, with some ancient piece that you inherited from your grandfather. And is just one of the many reasons critics use when promoting legislation that aims to bring ghost guns under control.
This year alone, legislators in New York, Maryland, Washington, Oregon and Connecticut have introduced bills on this subject. The legislation is being proposed at the federal level as well, in the form of the Ghost Guns Are Guns Act
Things seem to be moving in the right direction. Let’s just hope they’re moving fast enough.
Guns tend to be controversial topics that bring forth contrasting opinions. From constitutional arguments to numerous examples of misuse, guns are a reality we cannot deny or control. All in all, only time will tell if homemade, unregistered guns will become a thing of the past. But we can all agree that it is a loophole that needs to be closed as soon as possible.
Author: Steve White
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