Van Hollen and Cardin urge President Biden to take immediate action to implement ‘Ghost Gun’ security measures

January 27, 2022

Today, US Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) urged President Joe Biden to take immediate action to finalize regulations on the threat of guns without serial numbers – commonly called “phantom weapons” – to prevent violence and save lives. in Maryland and across the country. Following a incident last week at Magruder High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, in which a student allegedly shot and seriously injured a classmate with a ghost gun and the number of ghost guns used in crimes in Maryland has increased dramatically since 2019, the Senators Van Hollen and Cardin reiterated the need for the administration to quickly enact a pending rule proposal in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) that would close loopholes to prevent these weapons untraceable from falling into the wrong hands.

“Here in Maryland, we were tragically reminded of the urgency of this issue last week, after a student at Magruder High School in Montgomery County allegedly shot a classmate with a ghost gun. press, the teenage suspect purchased the components online and the parts were delivered to his home,” write the senators. “Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy reports that they have recovered four ghost guns from schools since they began tracking them.”

“The threat of phantom guns continues to grow throughout Maryland. During a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last May, Baltimore City Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said his department had seen a 300% increase in the number of phantom guns seized compared to Last year. Of particular concern, nearly a quarter of firearms seized were from people too young to legally own a firearm – including a 14-year-old,” They continue.

“We appreciate the priority your administration has placed on gun violence prevention by taking action to protect our schools, police officers and communities from unnumbered ghost guns. The ATF’s proposed ghost weapon regulations are a common-sense update that will address changing technology and save lives. We urge your Administration to finalize it without further delay. We look forward to continuing to work closely with you and your administration as we take steps to prevent gun violence,” conclude the senators.

Senator Van Hollen is also one of the co-sponsors of the Untraceable Firearms Act, a law to prohibit and penalize the manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase or receipt of ghost weapons. Both Van Hollen and Cardin co-sponsored the 3D Printed Guns Safety Act, which would restrict the distribution of the digital code used to 3D print non-serialized guns or complete ghost guns from an unfinished frame.

The full letter is available here and below.

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you for your leadership in ending the growing threat of non-serialized firearms known as ghost guns with your executive order that required the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to regulate the constituent parts of phantom guns under current gun laws. We urge your administration to finalize this essential rule as soon as possible to help save lives in Maryland and across the country.

As you know, ghost guns are sold as untraceable components that can be easily assembled by the buyer. With just a credit card and a shipping address, it’s possible to buy unfinished frames or receivers for ghost guns from at least 100 online sellers. Instructional videos on websites like YouTube have millions of views and can teach people how to assemble their unobtainable guns with a jig kit, common tools, and minimal effort. The ATF’s proposed rule would close the loophole that allows people to make and sell these untraceable weapons and treat them like we would any other weapon under federal law.

Here in Maryland, we were tragically reminded of the urgency of this problem last week, after a student at Magruder High School in Montgomery County allegedly shot a classmate with a ghost gun. According to news reports, the teenage suspect purchased the components online and the parts were delivered to his home. Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy reports that they have recovered four ghost guns from schools since they began tracking them.

The threat of phantom guns continues to grow throughout Maryland. During a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last May, Baltimore City Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said his department had seen a 300% increase in the number of phantom guns seized compared to Last year. Of particular concern, almost a quarter of firearms seized were from people too young to legally own a firearm, including a 14-year-old. According to the latest statistics from the Baltimore Police Department, officers seized 345 ghost guns last year — nearly 15% of all firearms seized in the city — and that number is expected to double in 2022.

During the upcoming session, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and leaders of our state legislature are working to pass legislation to prevent dangerous people and children from accessing phantom guns and to manufacture weapons without a serial number. This is an extremely important step in increasing public safety in our state, but more action is needed at the federal level to ensure that other states have strong protections against ghost weapons.

We appreciate the priority your administration has placed on gun violence prevention by taking action to protect our schools, police, and communities from serialized ghost guns. The ATF’s proposed ghost weapon regulations are a common-sense update that will address changing technology and save lives. We urge your Administration to finalize it without further delay. We look forward to continuing to work closely with you and your administration as we take action to prevent gun violence.

Truly,