The accused murderer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was carrying a “ghost gun” when he was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9.
Government officials and gun control proponents say such guns, called privately manufactured firearms (PMFs) are preferred by criminals because they don’t have serial numbers, making them difficult to trace.
Gun rights activists say the private manufacture of firearms is a time-honored tradition that predates America. They say requiring serial numbers on guns has done little to prevent or solve crimes.
Serial Numbers
Under the Gun Control Act of 1968, all firearms are required to contain a unique number or marking. This number is included in sales records each time the gun is transferred by a dealer with a Federal Firearms License (FFL).According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), this number can be used to trace a gun from a crime scene back to its original owner.
“Over the past five-year period, ATF reports that it was only able to successfully trace to an individual purchaser 0.98 percent of the suspected ‘ghost guns’ submitted by law enforcement around the country,” the agency’s website reads.
Luis Valdes, a former law enforcement officer and national spokesman for the Gun Owners of America in Florida, said gun tracing data is of little use in real-world investigations.
He points out that after their initial purchase, many guns are transferred through private sales, which require no records.
“In the majority of states, [the first sale] is the end of the paper trail,” Valdes told The Epoch Times.
According to the ATF, PMFs are legal. Companies that manufacture guns for resale, or those who build guns for profit or livelihood, must include a serial number on their guns. However, private individuals can make guns for personal use.
The ATF under the Biden administration has cracked down on PMFs, redefining firearms and writing rules to more tightly regulate them. One case challenging the new rules has reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
Last October, the High Court heard arguments in Garland v. Vanderstok. This is a Texas case challenging a 2022 ATF rule that reinterpreted the Gun Control Act of 1968 to apply to gun kits and some unfinished parts, making them the same as finished firearms.
Texas residents Jennifer Vanderstok and Michael Andren, along with Tactical Machining and the Firearms Policy Coalition, sued the ATF. Their case eventually reached the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which ruled that the ATF had misinterpreted the law.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) argument before the Supreme Court is that gun kits and certain unfinished gun parts are equivalent to guns because they have no other practical use.
Where They Are Found
The ATF reports that the number of ghost guns found at crime scenes has increased by more than 1,000 percent.“From January 2016 to December 2021, ATF received approximately 45,000 reports of suspected privately made firearms (PMFs) recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations—including 692 homicides or attempted homicides,” the ATF website states.
The gun control group, Brady, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Betsy Brantner Smith is a retired police officer with 30 years in law enforcement and the spokesperson for the National Police Association. She said evidence shows that the use of PMFs in crime is “kind of regional” based on existing gun laws.
According to Smith, most guns used in the commission of a crime are stolen from lawful gun owners. If a city has strict gun laws, it can be more difficult for criminals to acquire guns. So PMFs become a more viable alternative.
Still, she said that even the majority of those guns are stolen. She said that in 30 years in law enforcement, she encountered about 12 PMFs. All were stolen rifles.
They’re Not All 3-D Printed
The advent of 3-D printing technology brought PMFs to the forefront of the gun control debate, but PMFs have been around since the first guns were made.In fact, the cost of 3-D printers puts the technology out of the reach of many firearms enthusiasts, though that cost is expected to decrease.
Before computer technology made printing a gun a reality, there were so-called “buy-build-shoot” kits that contained most or all of the parts needed for an operable gun.
These kits required the buyer to finish the components by sanding wood, painting or bluing metal parts, and measuring and fitting the parts together.
The AR-15 rifle is popular partly because it is easily customizable. So, manufacturers began offering components and parts for AR-15 owners to upgrade existing rifles or build their own from scratch.
Who Makes Their Own Guns?
Valdes said Americans have been making their own guns since before the country began. He said the earliest firearms were made by individuals out of necessity. Over time, gun enthusiasts took up building their own guns as a hobby.Smith compared it to building hot rods or custom motorcycles. The skill it takes to build a safe, functioning gun, is a source of pride for people involved in the shooting sports, Smith said.
“It’s hard to build a gun, even from a kit. You have to know ballistics, there are principles of physics,” Smith said. “If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll have a very big, dangerous mess on your hands.”
