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Abstract
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Off-the-books, untraceable "ghost guns" can now be manufactured at home, easily, and in large numbers; they contribute ever more frequently to firearm violence, including hate violence and domestic terrorism. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives estimates that in 2019 alone, law enforcement agencies recovered more than 10,000 ghost guns. The manuscript describes the current situation and suggests specific actions that state and federal governments can take to avert disaster.
Suppose I wanted to produce rifles and pistols in large numbers, clandestinely, to arm violent extremists or a hate group in the United States: Donald Trump's erstwhile shock troops the Proud Boys, for example, members of the Three Percenters or boogaloo movement, or any of scores of private so-called militias and neo-Nazi organizations. You might think this would require a substantial investment and high-level technological expertise on my part. Far from it.
For $2100 I can buy a GhostGunner3--a computer-controlled milling machine not much bigger than a desktop laser printer--that will let me "manufacture firearms with confidence and ease, in the privacy of [my] own home." (Ghost Gunner 3 Deposit, 2020) The machine produces finished lower receivers for AR-type rifles or frames for Glock-type pistols at the rate of 1 every 35 min, and tooling for AK-type rifles is in development. I can easily download the controlling code, my laptop computer is more than adequate, and helpful chatrooms provide advice.
Finished lower receivers and frames are regulated as firearms under federal law; they are the keystone components to which manufacturers attach the other parts needed to produce fully functional weapons. But nearly-finished aluminum or polymer receiver blanks, as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) calls them--"80-percenters," as they are known colloquially--are considered nothing more than pieces of metal or plastic. I can buy them for as little as $50 to $75 each, and I can get volume discounts.
If I don't have the money to buy a milling machine, I can rent one, or I can buy inexpensive jigs and produce finished receivers with a drill press and hand tools. All the other parts that get me to a durable working firearm are readily available. Home manufacturing of firearms for personal use is legal under federal law and requires no license, and supplying parts to home builders and customizers is a growth area for the firearm industry.
Here's the key: Because I make them myself, these firearms are not required to have serial numbers or other identifiers, which makes it impossible to trace transfers of ownership. Because I want to cover my tracks, I keep no records of their existence. They are guns without a history, coming from nowhere. Ghost guns...
Language: en |