Brady, Team ENOUGH Celebrate Signing of E.N.U.F. Ordinance Banning Ghost Guns in San Diego

San Diego, California, September 23, 2021 - Today, Brady and Team ENOUGH applaud San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria for signing the Eliminate Non-Serialized Untraceable Firearm (E.N.U.F.) Ordinance, making San Diego the first city in California to ban so-called ‘ghost guns.’ This ordinance, sponsored by San Diego Councilmember Marni Von Wilpert (District 5), will prohibit the possession, purchase, sale, receipt, and transportation of non-serialized, unfinished frames and unfinished receivers, and non-serialized firearms within the City of San Diego.

Brady President Kris Brown shared:

“Today is a historic day in California, as San Diego becomes the first city in the state to ban ghost guns. These weapons are a clear and growing threat to public safety and are already proliferating in cities and communities across California and the nation, threatening public order and law enforcement. Particularly against the backdrop of rising gun violence rates, the E.N.U.F. Ordinance is a common-sense measure to keep San Diego residents safe. Brady thanks Councilmember Von Wilpert for championing this needed bill and Mayor Gloria for quickly signing it into law. This measure will help keep all San Diego residents safe.”

Team ENOUGH Executive Councilmember Stephan Abrams shared:

“Today, I am proud of my city and its leaders. As a life-long San Diego resident and gun violence prevention activist, I am gratified to see that leaders like Councilmember Von Wilpert and Mayor Gloria have prioritized the safety and security of our city and taken decisive steps to stop the proliferation of ghost guns in our communities. I know too-well how easy it is to acquire these firearms, as I bought one of these dangerous ghost gun kits as a minor to demonstrate the ease with which any person can acquire one. Our city now leads the state in the effort to stop their traffic and sale, helping to stop their flow into communities already disproportionately affected by gun violence. I urge all other cities in California and across the country to follow suit and ban these dangerous weapons.”

About the E.N.U.F. Ordinance

Councilmember Von Wilpert’s E.N.U.F. Ordinance will prohibit the possession, purchase, sale, receipt, and transportation of non-serialized, unfinished frames and unfinished receivers, and non-serialized firearms within the City of San Diego. The number of “ghost guns” recovered from crime scenes is rising across the country, California, and in San Diego. According to the Chief of Police, San Diego Police Department, David Nisleit, “About one in four of every gun we’re recovering right now is a ghost gun." As of May 2021, approximately 21 percent of all firearms recovered from crime scenes in San Diego are ghost guns, a stark increase over the 12 percent recovered in 2020 and the four percent recovered in 2019. A June 2021 report from the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) found that “the vast majority of ghost guns...are seized from people who cannot pass state or federal background checks because of a criminal conviction involving a felony or violent misdemeanor, and from persons prohibited from possessing firearms due to mental illness.”

About Ghost Guns

Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable firearms that are often made from "ghost gun kits," that can be bought online, at gun shows or at gun stores and assembled at home. "Ghost gun kits," include all of the parts and often the equipment necessary to build these weapons at home. These kits are widely available and can be purchased by anyone, including prohibited purchasers, domestic abusers, and gun traffickers — without a background check. As these kits and guns are sold at gun shows and online every day throughout the country, they undermine all of the life-saving policies that state legislatures have fought so hard to put in place.

Two states, Hawaii and New Jersey, and two cities, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., have already instituted bans on ghost guns or parts and kits used to assemble these weapons, and several other states including California, Rhode Island, and Connecticut have also passed laws regulating ghost guns. Both New York state and San Francisco are considering legislation surrounding ghost guns, and the parts and kits used to assemble ghost guns as well bans.