Biden expected to release rule on ghost guns in days

[mystery-ak]

Published April 10, 2022 1:25pm EDT
Biden expected to release rule on ghost guns in days
The rule comes as both the White House and the Justice Department try to crack down on violent crime and gun deaths
Associated Press

    The Biden administration will come out with its long-awaited ghost gun rule — aimed at reining in privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up at crime scenes — as soon as Monday, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Completion of the rule comes as the White House and the Justice Department have been under growing pressure to crack down on gun deaths and violent crime in the U.S.


The White House has also been weighing naming Steve Dettelbach, a former U.S. attorney from Ohio, to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, the people said. Biden had to withdraw the nomination of his first nominee, gun-control advocate David Chipman, after the nomination stalled for months because of opposition from Republicans and some Democrats in the Senate.

For nearly a year, the rule has been making its way through the federal regulation process. Gun safety groups and Democrats in Congress have been pushing for the Justice Department to finish the rule for months. It will probably be met with heavy resistance from gun groups and draw litigation in the coming weeks.

more
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-expected-release-ghost-gun-rule

[Elderberry]

Biden expected to release rule on ghost guns as soon as Monday

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/10/biden-expected-to-release-rule-on-ghost-guns-as-soon-as-monday.html

For nearly a year, the rule has been making its way through the federal regulation process. Gun safety groups and Democrats in Congress have been pushing for the Justice Department to finish the rule for months. It will probably be met with heavy resistance from gun groups and draw litigation in the coming weeks.

The rule is expected to change the current definition of a firearm under federal law to include unfinished parts, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun.

In its proposed rule released last May, the ATF said it was also seeking to require manufacturers and dealers who sell ghost gun parts to be licensed by the federal government and require federally licensed firearms dealers to add a serial number to any unserialized guns they plan to sell.

The rule would also require firearms dealers to run background checks before they sell ghost gun kits that contain parts needed to assemble a firearm.

The critical component in building an untraceable gun is what is known as the lower receiver, a part typically made of metal or polymer. An unfinished receiver — sometimes referred to as an “80-percent receiver” — can be legally bought online with no serial numbers or other markings on it, no license required.

[mountaineer]

That must be what that little twerp David Hogg was crowing about on Twitter.

David Hogg 🌻
@davidhogg111
I will be at the White House on Monday for an announcement from the president of the United States on what actions are being taken to reduce gun violence.
Many in the movement including myself have been working on this for months. Looking to finally seeing the results :)
9:23 PM · Apr 9, 2022·

[Smokin Joe]

But the frame of a handgun and the receiver of a long gun are already considered "firearms".

What else is this up to? What other finished parts will be included?

As for unfinished parts, that could include virtually any piece of metal.

[Killer Clouds]

But the frame of a handgun and the receiver of a long gun are already considered "firearms".

What else is this up to? What other finished parts will be included?

As for unfinished parts, that could include virtually any piece of metal.

80% completed frames and receivers are not considered firearms since they need 20% of the machine work to be usable. That's what they are falsely calling ghost guns.

[Killer Clouds]

There is no such thing as gun violence or gun deaths. There has never been a gun in the history of firearms that has killed anyone or caused any violence. Gun violence and gun death are more BS terms made up by lefty liberals. Guns are inanimate objects that have no will of their own. Ghost gun is also a BS made up term that started in Kalifornia and spread like cancer among gun grabbers.

[Elderberry]

S.1558 - Untraceable Firearms Act of 2021

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1558/text


H.R.1454 - Ghost Guns Are Guns Act

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1454/text

[Smokin Joe]

There is no such thing as gun violence or gun deaths. There has never been a gun in the history of firearms that has killed anyone or caused any violence. Gun violence and gun death are more BS terms made up by lefty liberals. Guns are inanimate objects that have no will of their own. Ghost gun is also a BS made up term that started in Kalifornia and spread like cancer among gun grabbers.

You have the Right to manufacture a firearm from 'scratch'. Earle Stanley Gardner, who wrote the Perry Mason books (made into a TV series) had a collection of over 50 'homemade' firearms, some quite well done (not just zip guns, but semiautomatics, too).

A firearm you make for yourself has never been required to have a serial number.

As for increasing numbers of guns showing up at crime scenes, iirc a lot of those have the serial numbers removed to keep them from being traced to whatever robbery (and possibly the robber) they were stolen during. This was so common, that removing a serial number was made into a crime in itself.
I would like to see some numbers and pics of these "ghost guns" showing up at crime scenes.
I would also like o know if these are complete firearms and not just parts or unfinished parts.

I will also keep in mind that if there was one last year, and two this year, that is a 100% increase, so I want to see raw numbers, not percentages.


From the text of the Bill HR1454:

“(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (A), beginning on the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of the Untraceable Firearms Act of 2021, it shall be unlawful for any person other than a licensed manufacturer to possess, purchase, or receive, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a machine that has the sole or primary function of manufacturing firearms.

Now they are going after machine tools...(and likely 3D printers)...

[roamer_1]

From the text of the Bill HR1454:
Now they are going after machine tools...(and likely 3D printers)...

ROTFLMAO!!!

So I have a drill press, a fly cutter, a tooling lathe, and various other sundry machining tools... None of which are used for gun manufacturing... or at least, not much... But all of them COULD BE...

How the hell are they going to license the thousands upon thousands of machines and shops just like mine?

What an idiotic assertion. I sure as hell ain't registering a damn thing...
 

[Smokin Joe]

ROTFLMAO!!!

So I have a drill press, a fly cutter, a tooling lathe, and various other sundry machining tools... None of which are used for gun manufacturing... or at least, not much... But all of them COULD BE...

How the hell are they going to license the thousands upon thousands of machines and shops just like mine?

What an idiotic assertion. I sure as hell ain't registering a damn thing...
 

I seriously doubt they want all those tools registered (imagine the paperwork, or the manufacturer license requests!). What they DO want is the ability to charge anyone capable of making stuff with a crime.

Every such law is aimed at reducing an individual's (or even community's) ability to be self-sufficient.

[Elderberry]

It don't take much to make a firearm.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_5vSHWZ2mg

[roamer_1]

I seriously doubt they want all those tools registered (imagine the paperwork, or the manufacturer license requests!). What they DO want is the ability to charge anyone capable of making stuff with a crime.

Every such law is aimed at reducing an individual's (or even community's) ability to be self-sufficient.

The point being, the only parts of a gun I ain't damn capable of making right now with the tooling I have is a rifled barrel, and I ain't quite sure I can't do that too. But as for the bits and pieces, not a bit of that is hard to do.

[roamer_1]

Not that it will matter much as MT/WY/ID governors will give the Fed the big middle-finger of non-compliance. Watch and see.

[Smokin Joe]

Not that it will matter much as MT/WY/ID governors will give the Fed the big middle-finger of non-compliance. Watch and see.

Hopefully, a lot more states will be on that list.

[roamer_1]

Hopefully, a lot more states will be on that list.

No doubt NODAK and SODAK ain't far behind. And OK and TX ain't worth their salt if they don't come a runnin.  AZ along with em.

[Killer Clouds]

You have the Right to manufacture a firearm from 'scratch'. Earle Stanley Gardner, who wrote the Perry Mason books (made into a TV series) had a collection of over 50 'homemade' firearms, some quite well done (not just zip guns, but semiautomatics, too).

A firearm you make for yourself has never been required to have a serial number.

As for increasing numbers of guns showing up at crime scenes, iirc a lot of those have the serial numbers removed to keep them from being traced to whatever robbery (and possibly the robber) they were stolen during. This was so common, that removing a serial number was made into a crime in itself.
I would like to see some numbers and pics of these "ghost guns" showing up at crime scenes.
I would also like o know if these are complete firearms and not just parts or unfinished parts.

I will also keep in mind that if there was one last year, and two this year, that is a 100% increase, so I want to see raw numbers, not percentages.


From the text of the Bill HR1454:
Now they are going after machine tools...(and likely 3D printers)...

You can buy kits to assemble an AR-15 that has everything except the stripped lower receiver. You can get a polymer 80% lower that you can  finish machining with a hand drill and a file. I believe you're correct when you suggest they are lumping together homemade firearms and firearms with serial numbers removed.

[Elderberry]

 FACT SHEET: The Biden Administration Cracks Down on Ghost Guns, Ensures That ATF Has the Leadership it Needs to Enforce Our Gun Laws
April 11, 2022

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/11/fact-sheet-the-biden-administration-cracks-down-on-ghost-guns-ensures-that-atf-has-the-leadership-it-needs-to-enforce-our-gun-laws/

• Statements and Releases   

Today, President Biden and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco will deliver remarks in the Rose Garden to announce additional steps the Administration is taking to combat gun crime.

Ensuring that ATF has the leadership it needs to enforce our commonsense gun laws and fight gun crime.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is our top federal law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing our commonsense gun laws. Today, the President is nominating Steve Dettelbach to serve as Director of ATF.

Dettelbach is a highly respected former U.S. Attorney and career prosecutor who spent over two decades as a prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice. He has received bipartisan praise and support from law enforcement for his work. In 2009, he was unanimously confirmed for his position as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. He has a proven track record of working with federal, state, and local law enforcement to fight violent crime and combat domestic violent extremism and religious violence – including through partnerships with the ATF to prosecute complex cases and take down violent criminal gangs. Dettelbach also worked closely with local law enforcement and community leaders to develop and implement data-driven and neighborhood-based efforts to prevent and fight violent crime. His leadership and his record of innovation in fighting crime and violence make him ready from day one to aggressively and creatively address these pressing issues at the Director of ATF.

Cracking down on ghost guns – the weapon of choice for many violent criminals

Today, the President and Deputy Attorney General will also announce that the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a final rule to rein in the proliferation of “ghost guns” – unserialized, privately-made firearms that law enforcement are increasingly recovering at crime scenes in cities across the country. Last year alone, there were approximately 20,000 suspected ghost guns reported to ATF as having been recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations – a ten-fold increase from 2016.[1] Because ghost guns lack the serial numbers marked on other firearms, law enforcement has an exceedingly difficult time tracing a ghost gun found at a crime scene back to an individual purchaser.

This final rule bans the business of manufacturing the most accessible ghost guns, such as unserialized “buy build shoot” kits that individuals can buy online or at a store without a background check and can readily assemble into a working firearm in as little as 30 minutes with equipment they have at home. This rule clarifies that these kits qualify as “firearms” under the Gun Control Act, and that commercial manufacturers of such kits must therefore become licensed and include serial numbers on the kits’ frame or receiver, and commercial sellers of these kits must become federally licensed and run background checks prior to a sale – just like they have to do with other commercially-made firearms.

The final rule will also help turn some ghost guns already in circulation into serialized firearms. Through this rule, the Justice Department is requiring federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths taking any unserialized firearm into inventory to serialize that weapon. For example, if an individual builds a firearm at home and then sells it to a pawn broker or another federally licensed dealer, that dealer must put a serial number on the weapon before selling it to a customer. This requirement will apply regardless of how the firearm was made, meaning it includes ghost guns made from individual parts, kits, or by 3D-printers.

This rule builds on the Biden Administration’s prior executive action to rein in the proliferation of ghost guns. In February 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a National Ghost Gun Enforcement Initiative, which is training a national cadre of prosecutors and disseminating investigation and prosecution tool to help bring cases against those who use ghost guns to commit crimes. As President Biden said during an event at the New York Police Department headquarters, if you use a ghost gun to commit a crime “not only are state and local prosecutors going to come after you, but expect federal charges and federal prosecution as well.”

Additional executive action to reduce gun violence

Today’s final rule includes two additional actions to make our communities safer.

First, the final rule ensures that firearms with split receivers are subject to regulations requiring serial numbers and background checks when purchased from a licensed dealer, manufacturer or importer. Decades ago, ATF issued a regulation defining the “frame or receiver” of a firearm as the part that is regulated by the Gun Control Act – meaning that is the part that triggers federal serialization, background check, and other requirements. At that time, many firearms in the United States were single-framed firearms, like revolvers, that house key components in a single structure. However, we have seen the increasing popularity of firearms using split or multi-part receivers that house key components in multiple structures. Some courts have recently interpreted decades-old regulatory text in a way that, if broadly applied, could mean that as many as 90 percent of firearms in the United States today would not have a frame or receiver subject to federal regulation. The final rule updates the regulatory definitions of “frame” and “receiver” to ensure that firearms using split or multi-part receivers continue to be covered by our common-sense gun laws.

Second, the final rule requires federally licensed firearms dealers to retain key records until they shut down their business or licensed activity. At that time, these dealers must transfer the records to ATF, just as they are currently required to do at the end of licensed activity. Previously, these dealers were permitted to destroy most records after 20 years, making it harder for law enforcement to trace firearms found at crime scenes. According to ATF’s National Tracing Center, on average more than 1,300 firearms a year are untraceable because the federally licensed firearms dealer destroyed the relevant records that were more than 20 years old.

Implementing the President’s comprehensive gun crime reduction strategy

This final rule is part of the President’s comprehensive gun crime reduction strategy. President Biden made more progress on executive actions to reduce gun violence than any other President during their first year in office. You can read more about the Administration’s whole-of-government approach to reduce gun crime here.

President Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget calls on Congress to deliver the funding needed to implement the President’s comprehensive strategy to reduce gun crime and make our communities safer. These additional resources will fund accountable policing, including by putting more police officers on the beat, and making essential investments in crime prevention and community violence intervention.

Congress needs to do its job by passing this budget and other essential legislation to reduce gun crime, including legislation to require background checks for all gun sales, ensure that no terrorist can buy a weapon in the United States, ban the sale and possession of unserialized firearms — ghost guns, ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and repeal gun manufacturers’ protection from liability.

[Smokin Joe]

I seriously doubt that "Ghost guns" are "the weapon of choice" for criminals--at least not the most used weapons when so many stolen ones are out there, and manufacturing weapons requires some modicum of skill.

Furthermore, parts kits which do not include the receiver are mischaracterized, because those are commonly for long guns, which are not the "weapon of choice" for criminal activity.

This just tells me they are including guns which HAD serial numbers but those were ground off,as well as parts kits for guns that are seldom used in crimes.

The practice of grinding off serial numbers is already illegal, and will not change, as it makes guns harder to trace to thefts.

But this does make inroads into the availability of parts and legality of existing home manufactured AR-15s and the like, assembled using receivers which the purchaser completed machining on which had no serial numbers by making them have to have a serial number put there by a licensed manufacturer.
If you didn't pay cash for the uncompleted receiver or the parts, they may be tracing it to your gun cabinet.

This crap really got started when the BATFE declared any part which makes a machine gun a machine gun (mostly confined to selectors, sears, and trigger group parts) to BE a "machine gun" even if that part is incapable of chambering or firing a round.

[Killer Clouds]

FACT SHEET: The Biden Administration Cracks Down on Ghost Guns, Ensures That ATF Has the Leadership it Needs to Enforce Our Gun Laws
April 11, 2022

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/11/fact-sheet-the-biden-administration-cracks-down-on-ghost-guns-ensures-that-atf-has-the-leadership-it-needs-to-enforce-our-gun-laws/

This is all utter and complete bullsh!t!  This all lies set out by the gun grabbing Democrat Communist Party. 

[Killer Clouds]

I seriously doubt that "Ghost guns" are "the weapon of choice" for criminals--at least not the most used weapons when so many stolen ones are out there, and manufacturing weapons requires some modicum of skill.

Furthermore, parts kits which do not include the receiver are mischaracterized, because those are commonly for long guns, which are not the "weapon of choice" for criminal activity.

This just tells me they are including guns which HAD serial numbers but those were ground off,as well as parts kits for guns that are seldom used in crimes.

The practice of grinding off serial numbers is already illegal, and will not change, as it makes guns harder to trace to thefts.

But this does make inroads into the availability of parts and legality of existing home manufactured AR-15s and the like, assembled using receivers which the purchaser completed machining on which had no serial numbers by making them have to have a serial number put there by a licensed manufacturer.
If you didn't pay cash for the uncompleted receiver or the parts, they may be tracing it to your gun cabinet.

This crap really got started when the BATFE declared any part which makes a machine gun a machine gun (mostly confined to selectors, sears, and trigger group parts) to BE a "machine gun" even if that part is incapable of chambering or firing a round.

[Smokin Joe]

This is all utter and complete bullsh!t!  This all lies set out by the gun grabbing Democrat Communist Party.

Back door gun control. Nothing more or less.

[GtHawk]

The point being, the only parts of a gun I ain't damn capable of making right now with the tooling I have is a rifled barrel, and I ain't quite sure I can't do that too. But as for the bits and pieces, not a bit of that is hard to do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihPFjuxBjPo

[mountaineer]

Do Studies Show Gun Control Works? No.
Out of 27,900 research publications on gun laws, only 123 tested their effects rigorously.
Aaron Brown and Justin Monticello | 3.31.2022


After reaching historic lows in the mid-2010s, gun violence rates in America have gone up in recent years, and they remain higher than in some other parts of the developed world. There are hundreds of laws and regulations at the federal and state level that restrict Americans' access to guns, yet according to some advocates, social science research shows that a few more "simple, commonsense" laws could significantly reduce the number of injuries and deaths attributed to firearms.

There has been a massive research effort going back decades to determine whether gun control measures work. A 2020 analysis by the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, parsed the results of 27,900 research publications on the effectiveness of gun control laws. From this vast body of work, the RAND authors found only 123 studies, or 0.4 percent, that tested the effects rigorously. Some of the other 27,777 studies may have been useful for non-empirical discussions, but many others were deeply flawed.   ... Reason

[Elderberry]

Biden Goes After ‘Ghost Guns,’ Nominates New ATF Director

Legal Insurrection by Mary Chastain Monday, April 11, 2022

https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/04/biden-goes-after-ghost-guns-nominates-new-atf-director/

How about the ATF and DOJ get back all those guns lost during Operation Fast & Furious?

The Democrats love trying the same ideas over and over despite getting the same result.

They have done that once again concerning guns. Let’s go after the physical object and not the people committing the crimes.

A ghost gun is privately made and does not have serial numbers making it untraceable. The DOJ asked the Federal Register to implement the “Frame or Receiver” Final Rule, which would change the definition of a firearm and include the ghost gun:

Today, the Department of Justice announced that it has submitted to the Federal Register the “Frame or Receiver” Final Rule, which modernizes the definition of a firearm. Once implemented, this rule will clarify that parts kits that are readily convertible to firearms are subject to the same regulations as traditional firearms. These regulatory updates will help curb the proliferation of “ghost guns,” which are often assembled from kits, do not contain serial numbers, and are sold without background checks, making them difficult to trace and easy to acquire by criminals.

Some of the changes include:

•   To help keep guns from being sold to convicted felons and other prohibited purchasers, the rule makes clear that retailers must run background checks before selling kits that contain the parts necessary for someone to readily make a gun.

•   To help law enforcement trace guns used in a crime, the rule modernizes the definition of frame or receiver, clarifying what must be marked with a serial number – including in easy-to-build firearm kits.

•   To help reduce the number of unmarked and hard-to-trace “ghost guns,” the rule establishes requirements for federally licensed firearms dealers and gunsmiths to have a serial number added to 3D printed guns or other un-serialized firearms they take into inventory.

•   To better support tracing efforts, the rule requires federal firearms licensees, including gun retailers, to retain records for the length of time they are licensed, thereby expanding records retention beyond the prior requirement of 20 years. Over the past decade, ATF has been unable to trace thousands of firearms – many reportedly used in homicides or other violent crimes – because the records had already been destroyed. These records will continue to belong to, and be maintained by, federal firearms licensees while they are in business.

More at link.

[Elderberry]

‘Congress Makes Law, Not POTUS!’: Rep. Massie Slams Biden Admin Over Gun Crackdown Report

By  Amanda Prestigiacomo Apr 11, 2022   DailyWire.com

https://www.dailywire.com/news/congress-makes-law-not-potus-rep-massie-slams-biden-admin-over-gun-crackdown-report

GOP Rep. Thomas Massie (KY) took on the Biden administration this weekend over reports of incoming executive action stripping away Americans’ gun rights.

President Joe Biden is expected this week to crackdown on so-called “ghost guns,” or any homemade firearm that lacks serial numbers.

Screencapping a report on the coming crackdown, Massie ripped Biden for ignoring the Constitution and bypassing Congress.

“The Constitution does not authorize the federal government to prevent you from making your own firearm,” the Republican asserted. “This a fact that has been recognized for 200+ years. Also, Article 1, Section 1 (literally the first operative sentence in the Constitution) says Congress makes law, not POTUS!”

Thomas Massie
@RepThomasMassie

The Constitution does not authorize the federal government to prevent you from making your own firearm. This a fact that has been recognized for 200+ years. Also, Article 1, Section 1 (literally the first operative sentence in the Constitution) says Congress makes law, not POTUS!

https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1513312153687711751?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1513312153687711751%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fcongress-makes-law-not-potus-rep-massie-slams-biden-admin-over-gun-crackdown-report

When Biden pushed the supposed grave seriousness of “ghost guns” in America last April, The Daily Wire highlighted that serial numbers are already required if these homemade guns are sold or transferred to another person:

    Under current law, a person can manufacture a homemade firearm without serial numbers for their personal use. A serial number, however, is required if the firearm is sold or transferred to another person. This is only applicable for hobbyists, not people who are in the business of manufacturing, buying, and/or selling guns. These homemade firearms are regulated under the Gun Control Act of 1968.

Gun expert Stephen Gutowski questioned Biden’s political tact regarding the coming gun control measures.

“I don’t understand the White House strategy here,” he wrote. “They’re going to put up another political guy for ATF director which means it’ll be a big gun-control fight right before the midterms. And they’re rushing the ‘ghost gun’ rule into effect early too.”

“Guns have consistently polled low on Americans’ priority list Biden’s entire presidency and his handling of the issue has been poor as well,” Gutowski noted. “Republicans are now more trusted on the issue than Democrats. And yet the White House is leaning into it anyway.”

“Maybe it will make some of the gun-control groups happy, but these moves seem too in the weeds for most grassroots Dems to get excited about. I’m not sure anyone goes to the polls because the ATF has a permanent director instead of an acting one,” the expert wrote.

“I can’t imagine Senators King, Tester, Sinema, and Manchin are too happy to re-litigate the ATF director fight again, though,” he added. “If the gun industry opposes Steve Dettlebach, and it looks like they will, it’s going to be another uphill battle to get him confirmed. Will Senator King see him as meaningfully different from Chipman?”