Four cities have sued the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms over the legal sales of so-called ghost gun kits. The federal lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York by the cities of Chicago, Syracuse, San Jose, and Columbia, South Carolina…along with Michael Bloomberg’s gun control operation, Everytown for Gun Safety.
The cities don’t like the fact that 80% kits can be freely sold and assembled by anyone without going through an FFL for a NICS background check.
From whtc.com:
So-called “ghost gun” or “80% gun” kits are self-assembled from parts purchased online or at gun shows. The parts that are assembled are not classified as a firearm by the ATF. For that reason they can be legally sold with no background checks and without serial numbers to identify the finished product.
The lawsuit argues the ATF and the Department of Justice “refuse to apply the clear terms of the Gun Control Act,” which the suit says defines regulated firearms as not only working weapons “but also their core building blocks – frames for pistols, and receivers for long guns.”
The ATF says on its website that receivers in which the fire-control cavities are solid “have not reached the ‘stage of manufacture’ which would result in the classification of a firearm.”
Yes, but Chicago’s Mayor, Lori Lightfoot is forever looking for others to blame for her city’s horrendous and escalating violence problem. Never mind that you can probably count on one hand the number of “ghost guns” have have been found in the hands of criminals in the Windy City.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose city has been beset by gun violence, demanded the ATF close the ghost gun loophole and regulate the sale of gun parts that are marketed to easily be used to build guns.
“Individuals with dangerous histories shouldn’t be able to order lethal weapons on the internet with a few quick clicks,” Lightfoot said.
There’s only one problem, your honor. You can’t stop the signal. It’s perfectly legal for Americans to build their own guns and they’ll find a way to do that no matter what you do. Trying to regulate 80% kits won’t make the slightest dent in crime.
You also get a side of Swedish meatballs with your “ghost gun”… pic.twitter.com/Rb76kz9ipM
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) August 26, 2020
Oh and, by the way, have you see what all the cool kids are doing with 3D printers these days?
The continued rapid advancement of tools and technology widely available to the public meant it was getting to the point where even rudimentary “chunks of metal” can be turned into firearms, [former ATF technical expert Rick] Vasquez said.
“How do you regulate that? The ATF can’t do it. This situation is uncontrollable because of technology, and I’m not sure what anyone can do about it.”
