Ghost Guns

Ghost Guns are unserialized (and therefore untraceable) firearms that are put together by components purchased either as a kit or as separate pieces. These firearms are fully functioning guns that are as lethal as a fully finished, serialized firearm.

These parts and kits have long been intentionally marketed as unregulated and untraceable to appeal to those who seek to use them in crimes.

In August 2022, a rule issued by the Biden-Harris administration went into effect to prevent the spread of ghost guns by clarifying that all ghost gun kits and some parts are required to be serialized, sold by a licensed dealer, and are subject to a Brady Background Check.

Unserialized. Untraceable. Unregulated.

Ghost guns are fully functioning firearms that can be constructed by ANYONE using unregulated unfinished frames or receivers. Frames and receivers are the pieces of the firearm that contain the operating parts of the firing mechanism, and are the part of the gun regulated under federal law. But when a frame or receiver is “unfinished” by a certain amount, it is unregulated, meaning it can be sold without a background check and without serialization. This also means law enforcement have no way to trace their origin when they are recovered at crime scenes. These unfinished frames or receivers are then easily “finished,” and alongside other completely unregulated parts, can be assembled into a fully functioning gun. Ghost gun kits and parts have long been intentionally marketed as unregulated and untraceable to appeal to those who want to avoid background checks and/or cannot legally possess firearms, including minors, domestic abusers, and gun traffickers.

Once assembled, a ghost gun looks, feels, and functions like a traditional gun, whether a handgun or assault weapon, and is just as deadly and dangerous in the wrong hands.

Ghost Guns Undermine ALL Gun Laws

As a result of this lack of regulation and serialization, prohibited and dangerous individuals have turned to ghost guns to evade federal and state gun regulations, emerging as the weapon of choice for criminal activity. The availability of ghost gun parts is creating a gaping, dangerous loophole that undermines currently enacted gun-related regulations, poses enormous risks to public safety, and undermines law enforcements efforts to prevent gun violence and solve crimes. Ghost guns have been used in a variety of crimes across the country, including homicides, school shootings, mass shootings, domestic violence, robberies, and killings of law enforcement officers in cities across the country, including Baltimore, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and more.

Evidence indicates sales of ghost gun parts and kits increased significantly in recent years, and their use in crimes has increased exponentially.

It is likely that these statistics significantly under-represent the number of recovered ghost guns due to difficulties in identifying them and the fact that some have no markings, duplicative or counterfeit markings, or misplaced markings.

Between 2016 and 2021, the number of ghost guns recovered by law enforcement agencies nationwide increased by 1,000%, with over 19,000 ghost guns recovered by law enforcement in 2021 alone.
At least 692 of the 45,240 total ghost guns recovered nationwide between 2016 and 2021 were in connection to a homicide or homicide attempt investigation.
In Baltimore, the number of recovered ghost guns increased by 2,775% between 2018 and 2021.
In Los Angeles, 1,921 ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement in 2021 alone.
In Chicago, the number of ghost guns recovered by law enforcement increased from two in 2016 to 455 in 2021.
In Washington, D.C., the number of ghost guns recovered by Metropolitan police increased by 11,433% between 2017 and 2021.

Why Were Ghost Guns Unregulated and Unserialized

Frames and receivers – the parts of guns regulated by federal law – are the pieces of the firearm that contain the operating parts of the firing mechanism. Because those parts are regulated, they are serialized, and they must be sold by a federal firearms dealer at the initial sale to ensure that the sale is lawful under federal and state law. However, prior to the clarification in the federal rule change (see below) when a frame or receiver was “unfinished,” even by a small fraction, it was completely unregulated. This meant that:

There were no federal restrictions on who could buy ghost gun kits or parts;
There were no federal limitations on how many unregulated ghost gun kits or parts someone could buy to build any number of guns;
Unless a state took decisive action, all state laws such as waiting periods, age restrictions, licensing, and protective orders, were circumvented by the unmitigated availability of these parts and kits.

This photo is of a ghost gun kit for a “Glock” type handgun purchased at a gun show for $400 cash without a background check or a bill of sale. The kit includes drill bits and only requires the additional use of a hand drill or drill press. In just a few steps and without any specialized skill, these parts can quickly be assembled into a fully functioning firearm.

If you can assemble Ikea furniture, you can build a fully functional firearm in under an hour. Prior to the federal rule change (see below) ghost gun kits and parts were relatively cheap and could be used to assemble handguns and AR-15-style assault weapons alike.

Ghost gun kits include all of the necessary component parts to turn an unfinished “frame” or “receiver” into a fully functioning gun. And ghost gun parts can be easily converted into fully functioning firearms due to the availability of associated parts, templates, and instructions online.

In response to the growing threat of ghost guns, President Biden issued an executive order to prevent the spread of these home-assembled weapons. The Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a rule to allow for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to regulate ghost guns by classifying them as functionable firearms. This rule, which went into effect on August 24, 2022, clarifies that all ghost gun kits and some parts are required to be serialized, that they must initially be sold by a licensed dealer, and that they are subject to a Brady Background Check. Unserialized and untraceable ghost guns have always been illegal. Specifically, this rule clarifies that the federal definition of “firearm” includes ghost gun kits and some unfinished frames and receivers. These sensible reforms will have an immediate and tangible impact on the effort to prevent gun violence.

The ATF’s ghost gun rule ensures that the parts and kits used to build ghost guns are subject to the same federal laws and regulations as all other commercially made firearms: they must be serialized, licensed, and sold by a federally licensed dealer with a background check at the first commercial point of sale.

Brady mobilized Americans across the country to share thousands of public comments in support of the ATF regulation. Already, we have successfully helped protect the ATF rule against legal challenges waged by the gun industry, which reaps profits from the sale of ghost guns. At the same time, however, we can anticipate that the ghost gun industry will continue to attempt to circumvent the law to allow unrestricted access to these dangerous and untraceable firearms. Additionally, the rule change does not address the likely hundreds of thousands of ghost guns already in circulation. It remains imperative that state and local legislatures and Congress address these threats through legislation.

“The rule addressing the supply of ghost guns is one of the most impactful gun violence prevention actions in decades. At long last, the manufacturers and sellers of these parts and kits can no longer make the laughable claim that these are not firearms. This will save lives and address a clear and growing threat across America.”

BRADY PRESIDENT KRIS BROWN

SOLUTIONS

How States and Localities Can Reduce the Spread the Ghost Guns

States must proactively pass legislation that addresses ghost gun loopholes, and ban the manufacture, assembly, import, purchase, sale, and possession of unfinished frames or receivers, or finished receivers that are not serialized.

More recently, a number of cities and localities have also moved on historic policy proposals to ban or regulate ghost guns, including: San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Montgomery County, MD; Los Angeles, CA; Oakland, CA.

The following states have laws on the books to ban or regulate ghost guns:

In 2023, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Ghost Guns and Untraceable Firearms Act of 2023. This bill would define ‘ghost guns’ under federal law and prohibit the manufacture, sale, offer to sell, transfer, purchase, reception, or possession of them. This would remove ghost guns from the legal market and allow those who continue to allow these untraceable firearms to proliferate to be prosecuted under the law.

The 3D Printed Gun Safety Act of 2023 was introduced by Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) to prohibit the distribution of 3D printer plans for the printing of firearms. This bill will allow those who seek to aid others in circumventing the Brady Background Check System to be held accountable for their dangerous actions.

How the Courts Can Hold Ghost Gun Manufacturers Accountable

Brady Legal works to uphold the ATF’s rule on ghost guns

Brady has filed amicus briefs in cases challenging the ATF’s rule on ghost guns in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and the U.S. District Court for North Dakota. Our briefs argue that rather than rewriting federal law, the ghost gun rule implements the language of the Gun Control Act of 1968, preventing subversion of the Act’s purpose by providing clarity given advancements in firearm technology.

McFadyen v. GhostGunner Inc.

The first-ever civil lawsuit by victims of gun violence against the ghost gun industry

In McFadyen v. GhostGunner Inc., Brady and the international law firm Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe represent the survivors and the families of the people killed in the 2017 mass shooting in Rancho Tehama, California. The case is the nation's first civil lawsuit by victims of gun violence against the ghost gun industry. The Rancho Tehama gunman was legally prohibited from purchasing firearms but obtained two AR-15-style ghost gun kits and firearm parts. He used those home-assembled firearms to kill five people and injure 18 others at eight separate crime scenes, including an elementary school. Brady Legal alleges in the complaint that the defendants have chosen to engage in a business that utilizes online loopholes that enable prohibited purchasers to acquire weapons without a Brady Background Check or any interaction with a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL). In doing so, Brady Legal alleges that the defendants have chosen to intentionally undermine federal and state gun laws by designing, marketing, and selling ghost gun kits and firearm parts.
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Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. Polymer80

The nation’s largest ghost gun manufacturer

In June 2022, Brady Legal and Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP, filed a lawsuit representing the City of Baltimore against Polymer80 – the nation’s largest manufacturer of home-assembled ghost guns – for fueling gun violence in the city. The danger posed by the proliferation of ghost guns throughout Baltimore City cannot be understated. Brady’s complaint cites that Polymer80 accounts for 91% of all ghost guns recovered by police in Baltimore from January 2020 to April 2022. Prior to 2018, the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) had never recovered a ghost gun. In 2021, the BPD recovered a total of 324 ghost guns, or 14% of all firearms recovered. As of May 2022, the BPD has recovered more than 187 ghost guns — nearly double the amount recovered in 2021 for the same time period.
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Team ENOUGH leader Stephan Abrams exposes just how easy it is for minors and other prohibited purchasers to obtain ghost guns. With just a few clicks, he was able to buy a ghost gun kit online and have it shipped to his house. He could have built a fully functioning firearm in less than 30 minutes.

Designed to avoid all gun laws
Untraceable and unserialized
Available to buy without a background check

This criteria and lack of federal regulation is exactly why ghost guns are a growing weapon of choice among people who are legally prohibited from buying guns.

What are ghost guns?

Unserialized. Untraceable. Unregulated.

Once assembled, a ghost gun looks, feels, and functions like a traditional gun, whether a handgun or assault weapon, and is just as deadly and dangerous in the wrong hands.

Ghost Guns Undermine ALL Gun Laws

Evidence indicates sales of ghost gun parts and kits increased significantly in recent years, and their use in crimes has increased exponentially.

Why Were Ghost Guns Unregulated and Unserialized

How Easy is it to Build a Ghost Gun?

President Biden’s ATF Rule and Federal Regulation on Ghost Guns

How States and Localities Can Reduce the Spread the Ghost Guns

How Congress Can Reduce the Spread the Ghost Guns

How the Courts Can Hold Ghost Gun Manufacturers Accountable

Brady Legal works to uphold the ATF’s rule on ghost guns

Ghost guns are: