A Guide to Ghost Guns For Law Enforcement
Posted on: August 12, 2022
Ghost guns aren’t a new phenomenon, but their presence has increased exponentially since the privately made firearm movement was jumpstarted between 2012 and 2013 in the United States.
Robert E. Walker’s recent book, A Field Guide to Ghost Guns: For Police and Forensic Investigations dives into the history of gun-making, the latest evolutions of ghost gun politics and these weapons' legality within the U.S.
This book specifically highlights the fact that it’s always been legal for U.S. citizens to manufacture their own firearms. It’s the actual sale of these weapons that is currently illegal.
Find Out MoreWhat is a ghost gun?
As Walker breaks down in his book, a ghost gun is a homemade firearm that is not reported to the federal register or to any third-party entity outside the builder. As their name suggests, these are unregistered firearms that exist as “ghosts” with no official record or traceable paper trail.
In the past, many people haven’t made their own weapons due to a lack of access to the tooling and machinery required to create a self-made firearm. However, this has been circumvented in the last 15 years, according to Walker, due to the proliferation of ghost gun kits (which include most of the materials needed to make a firearm), 3D printed gun designs and downloadable how-to content from the internet.
Someone can purchase a ghost gun kit, also known as a “buy build shoot kit,” online or at a gun show and assemble it at home — without any background check. There’s no law restricting the sale of these firearm parts if they remain unassembled. This is extremely worrisome for gun control legislators.
Improvised guns vs. ghost guns
A ghost gun shouldn’t be confused with an improvised gun. An improvised gun, also known as a “zip gun,” is a broad term to describe any devices that function, even if just once, as a firearm by expelling a projectile using the force of an explosive. These are clandestinely manufactured due to circumstances including legality issues, living in a remote area and poverty.
An improvised gun can be made from any materials, even if it’s roughly constructed and assembled. This includes a mix of donor gun materials, homemade components or a combination of both. Unlike ghost guns, unorthodox parts and methods are used to construct the firearm, such as using a flare gun as the base or a metal pipe for the receiver and barrel.
Some people will create improvised guns from whatever metal they have available, such as kitchen pots and pans, automotive parts or unknown scrap metal. This is dangerous, as the combinations of random metals can result in the creation of an unsafe alloy.
How prevalent are ghost guns?
Because there’s no official law or policy to keep track of ghost gun creation, there’s no surefire way to estimate the current number of ghost guns in the U.S. However, in terms of the number of ghost guns recovered and reported by law enforcement, roughly 20,000 suspected ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations and reported to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in 2021 alone. The White House shared that this figure shows the number of ghost guns recovered in the U.S. has increased tenfold since 2016.
Guns and Crime: The Data Don’t Lie by Mark Gius investigates the ways that current data are inadequate and inaccurate regarding guns and crime, especially when it comes to ghost guns. He highlights the lack of thorough studies and research to explore the relationship between ghost guns, crime and public safety policy — as well as the potential implications of this situation.
Find Out MoreHow are police and government officials addressing ghost guns?
There is a struggle currently between the rate of ghost gun accessibility and policymaking. Ghost gun technology evolves and spreads rapidly across the internet. Meanwhile, new policy development moves at a much slower rate, especially when guns are concerned.
Walker explains in his book that under current law published by the ATF, a private individual isn’t required to “acquire nor maintain a firearms manufacturer’s license to self-manufacture a firearm solely for personal use as long as certain conditions are met.” Basically, if you make a ghost gun for personal use, it’s non-regulated activity.
Ghost guns don’t require a background check, which is a major motivator for those legally prohibited from buying guns, such as domestic abusers, to seek them out. They’re unserialized, difficult to trace and typically designed to avoid current gun laws. In other words, ghost guns can act as a loophole for prohibited purchasers looking to avoid gun-related regulations.
How can law enforcement address ghost guns and resulting violent crime?
Currently, the main way the government can track and understand the proliferation of ghost guns in the U.S. is through ghost gun recoveries reported by the police. These are done through traffic stops, controlled buys and controlled delivery. They can also be recovered at a crime scene after gun violence.On a federal law level, home gunsmiths aren’t legally allowed to share equipment or machinery with others to make guns. Otherwise, they fall outside the realm of self-manufacturing a firearm solely for personal use.
Some states have passed laws to regulate ghost guns, including:
- California
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- Rhode Island
- Washington
In 2018, California Penal Code sections 29180–29184 went into effect. According to this new regulation, residents who self-manufacture or self-assemble a firearm are now required to apply for a unique serial number prior to the weapon's creation. However, Walker notes that this law is contradicted by a lawsuit brought by California and other plaintiffs against the ATF and other federal entities in 2020 (Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief). This lawsuit attempted to ban the same articles that the 2018 law offers a lawful path to make.
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